DNA match ties Fort Myers man to 1995 sexual battery

A DNA match led to the arrest of a 46-year-old man accused of sexual battery on a minor  over two decades ago, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Paul Shannon Jacob, of the 1700 Aquarius Court, was arrested Tuesday for sexual battery on a minor on Dec. 9, 1995, the sheriff’s office said. A warrant was out for his arrest.

Jacob was identified as a result of a DNA match after analysis performed pursuant to the National Institute of Justice Project, the sheriff’s office said.

The sexual battery reportedly took place on a dirt road extension in the area of Veronica Shoemaker Boulevard, the sheriff’s office said. The victim told deputies the suspect offered to drive the victim to get something to eat at a local restaurant.

The suspect reportedly drove the victim to a wooded area and sexually battered her in the vehicle, the sheriff’s office said. The suspect then drove to a nearby apartment complex where he allowed the victim to leave.

“We’ve come a long way with DNA analysis since 1995,” LCSO Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said. “Both Sheriff Scott and I, above all else, recognize the need to remove violent offenders from the streets and neighborhoods of Lee County. The apprehension of Paul Shannon Jacob, by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, places a cruel and dangerous criminal in a place where he can do no further damage.”

Jacob was released from the Lee County Jail Wednesday on a $50,000 bond.