Queens Tribune

A Richmond Hill man was sentenced to 17 years in prison for two rapes in 1997 – including a 33-year-old woman on her way to work and a 30-year-old woman who was riding in his vehicle after mistaking it for a livery cab.

Peter Grebinger, 42, pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in April. Grebinger was linked to both crimes through a DNA “cold hit” after DNA evidence was matched to his profile in the national DNA database.

Grebinger admitted to forcing his victim into a building where he raped her and demanded money before fleeing in January, 1997. He also admitted that he had picked up a woman flagging down a cab on her way to work before sexually assaulting her inside his vehicle in December. He then kicked her out of the car and fled. Both women went to local hospitals where sexual assault evidence kits were prepared and DNA profiles were obtained.

“Law enforcement has always had the tenacity to go back and attempt to resolve unsolved crimes. With DNA fingerprinting, we now have the technology to effectively do so,” Queens DA Richard Brown said. “This defendant is a violent predator and today’s sentence will protect the law-abiding members of our society from his brutish behavior and, hopefully, provide his victims with a measure of closure after so many years. It will also avoid the necessity of the defendant’s victims having to relive their ordeals on the witness stand.”

Grebinger submitted a DNA sample after being arrested last year following an unrelated narcotics investigation. His DNA profile was matched to the crimes.