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February 12, 2026 — 8:58am
An alleged serial rapist whose suspected crimes stretch more than three decades has been snared by advanced DNA technology used to catch California’s “Golden State Killer” in 2018, marking the first time in NSW history that forensic genetic genealogy has been deployed to apprehend a target.
Robert Wayne Kwan, 77, was charged with multiple sexual assault offences on Wednesday, after sex crime detectives under Strike Force Koolyn arrested him at a South Kempsey property following a search warrant.
The charges include five counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of sexual intercourse with person 10 or over and under 16 years, two counts of sexual assault of a person under 16, taking a person with intent to obtain advantage, attempting to choke or strangle with intent to commit an indictable offence, and committing an act of indecency with a person aged 16 or over.
Kwan’s alleged crimes date back to March 1991, when an 11-year-old was sexually assaulted after being ushered into a man’s car in Sydney’s west, before being dropped off at Mount Druitt railway station.
Five years later, a 16-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted by an unknown man, after she accepted a lift from a man at Kanahooka near Lake Illawarra. She was later abandoned at Warrawong.
Another sexual assault allegedly occurred in December 2002, when a 26-year-old woman accepted a lift from a man near a Dubbo pub, before she was driven to the nearby Devil’s Hole Reserve and sexually assaulted. All three incidents were reported to police, and DNA samples were obtained.
The cases went cold for decades before being revisited in 2022, when police commenced a review of several historic sexual assault matters amid the emergence of forensic technologies promising increased prospects of identifying violent crime suspects.
Kwan was identified through forensic investigative genetic genealogy, an investigative tool that combines DNA analysis with traditional genealogy to help identify suspects through commercial databases.
It analyses hundreds of thousands of genetic markers, rather than the 21 markers analysed under standard DNA profiling, allowing investigators to identify extended family relationships, as distant as fourth cousins, by comparing DNA records against public genealogy databases, police said.
The DNA profile of the unknown man recorded in the three alleged sexual assaults was uploaded to the databases, allowing police to identify a close relative of Kwan, leading them to the suspect. The 77-year-old is in custody after being charged at Kempsey Police Station, ahead of a bail hearing on Thursday.
Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty said the advanced DNA technology played a “crucial role” in Kwan’s arrest, helping to “directly assist” in the solving of serious crimes.
“I am incredibly proud of the dedication and expertise shown by our detectives and by the Forensic Evidence and Technical Services Command in achieving this result,” Doherty said.
“Their determination, innovation, and unwavering focus on victims have led to this significant NSW-first milestone, and it reflects the very best of what our investigators strive to achieve.”
Law enforcement is only granted access to genealogy profiles consenting for the use of their DNA in investigating serious and violent crimes, and is safeguarded by frameworks designed to protect user privacy.
The ‘Golden State Killer’, real name Joseph James DeAngelo, was arrested in California in 2018 after being identified through genetic genealogy for violent crimes committed decades earlier. He was accused of multiple rapes and murders in the 1970s and 1980s.
Police homed in on DeAngelo after identifying his family tree through DNA samples, narrowing their search based on age, location and other characteristics until they matched DNA from a tissue left in the garbage with DNA left at crime scenes decades earlier.
DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder in 2020, and 13 rape-related charges for crimes executed between 1975 and 1986. It followed a plea deal that spared him from a potential death sentence. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Anyone needing support can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028, Lifeline 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800.
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