DNA links man to October rape of Holtsville woman

A Holbrook man charged with raping a woman last October was linked through a DNA sample to the case after he was charged in connection with an unrelated assault, a Suffolk prosecutor said Thursday at the man's arraignment in Riverhead.

John Kluge, 23, gave a sample of his DNA when he was questioned by Suffolk police early this month on the assault charge, Assistant District Attorney John Scott Prudenti said at Kluge's arraignment on rape and burglary charges in Suffolk County Court.

The DNA sample linked him to the Oct. 26 rape of a Holtsville woman, who suffered a punctured eardrum when Kluge allegedly beat her, the prosecutor said.

Kluge, who is unemployed, pleaded not guilty to first-degree rape, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal sexual act and first-degree attempted criminal sexual act. The charges are contained in a grand jury indictment that was unsealed Thursday.

Kluge was ordered held on $300,000 cash bail by County Court Judge Barbara Kahn. He is scheduled back in court June 21.

In court, Prudenti described a brutal attack, which he said occurred when the Holtsville woman was leaving for work at about 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 26.

"The next thing she knows is she was grabbed from behind, punched, beaten and dragged into her garage," where Kluge raped her, Prudenti said.

"He is a danger not only to the victim but to the community at large," he said.

Kluge's attorney, Gregory Grizopoulos of Rockville Centre, said a police sketch of the suspect does not resemble Kluge.

"While the DA says they have the DNA match, the physical description doesn't match," Grizopoulos said after the arraignment. "The district attorney paints John as a sexual predator. . . . I think he's anything but that."

Kluge also has pleaded not guilty to charges including assault, harassment, marijuana possession and resisting arrest, from separate incidents dating to last October, according to online court records.