By Shereen Siewert

After a months-long investigation by Wausau police into an alleged sexual assault and robbery on the city’s east side, DNA evidence points to a single suspect who is now facing felony charges in the case.

Trevor J. Eaton, 18, faces charges of second degree sexual assault with the use of force, robbery with the use of force and substantial battery filed Jan. 24 in connection with the incident.

He is being held on a $50,000 cash bond.

An investigation launched in the early morning hours of June 19, when officers responded to a Wausau tavern for a report of a woman who was sexually assaulted.

According to the police report, the woman told police a man outside the bar offered to walk her home. After walking for a few blocks, the man allegedly asked the woman to perform oral sex on him, but she refused. The man then allegedly pushed the woman to the ground, pulled her yoga pants off and sexually assaulted her, fracturing her wrist in the process before grabbing the woman’s purse and fleeing.

The woman led police to the scene of the alleged attack, where they observed an area of matted grass and located a pair of headphones that belonged to the alleged victim, the police report states.

Semen collected by a sexual assault nurse examiner was sent to the crime lab, which identified a single source DNA profile, which was run through the FBI’s combined DNA index system (CODIS). No matches were located.

But three months later, a familiar search of the profile eventually led police to two potential suspects living in the Wausau area.

One of the two suspects was excluded based on a DNA sample obtained by investigators. DNA from the second suspect, Trevor Eaton, was a match, according to police.

The chance that the DNA does not belong to Eaton is about 1 in 7 trillion, according to court documents.

Court records show Eaton has one prior conviction from a misdemeanor drug possession charge. On Dec. 19, he was ordered to pay a $100 fine after pleading guilty to that charge.

The latest charges, filed Jan. 24 in Marathon County Circuit Court, carry a combined maximum penalty of 68 1/2 years in the Wisconsin Prison System and up to $160,000 in fines.

A preliminary hearing for Eaton, who remains behind bars as of Tuesday, is set for Feb. 3.