Memphis, TN – A federal jury has found Michael D. Love, 45, guilty of kidnapping and raping six Memphis women, and attempting to kidnap and rape a seventh, over a period of seven years.
The evidence presented in federal district court during a six-day trial demonstrated that between 2008 and 2015, Love traveled from Mississippi to Tennessee to find or meet a woman, hold her against her will, engage in forced sexual intercourse, and abandon her in a deserted part of the city.
The testimony at trial revealed that some of Love’s victims were chosen at random and abducted. Other victims met Love, who used a false identity, through social media and chat lines. But in every case, Love took his victims to unlit dead-end coves or uninhabited industrial areas.
Each victim testified that she was raped before or after being forced out of Love’s car, and that as soon as he was finished, Love got in his car and sped off, leaving her without her purse, wallet, cell phone, or other personal items. One of the victims was a minor.
Love was convicted of brandishing a firearm during one of the sexual assaults. All victims reported the crimes to the police, and went to the Rape Crisis Center for treatment and the collection of DNA evidence.
Love’s cases were not linked until he was arrested in 2015 and a sample of his DNA was taken as part of the arrest. A profile developed from that sample linked Love to several unsolved rape cases dating back to 2008.
A renewed effort to test all sexual assault kits (or ‘rape kits’) for DNA evidence is ongoing. Profiles developed from the testing compared to existing DNA profiles in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Defendant: Michael D. Love
Criminal Charges: Kidnapping, Rape, Attempting to Kidnap and Rape
City and State: Memphis, Tennessee
Exact Date: 2008-2015 (crime dates), August 15, 2019 (sentencing date)
Sentence: 27 years (mandatory minimum sentence)
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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