A Cincinnati man, formerly a respected local doctor, has admitted to federal charges after DNA evidence linked him to a decades-old rape case. Frederick Louis Tanzer, 66, of Sycamore Township, entered a guilty plea for making false statements to federal agents regarding the brutal rape that took place in 1989. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio, each count of the crime for which Tanzer was convicted could lead to up to five years in prison.
Documents from the plea unravel the case that began over three decades ago; on August 1, 1989, Tanzer, attired in black Lycra and concealing his identity with a mask, perpetrated a prolonged and savage assault on a victim, which lasted five and a half hours, this occurring after breaking into her home. Despite his initial denials, the conclusive DNA match in 2024 by the FBI, in coordination with the Cincinnati Police Department, cornered Tanzer; the semen found at the crime scene matched his own genetic blueprint. Tanzer compounded his legal troubles when he denied ever seeing or interacting with the victim on that grim day. The FBI and Cincinnati police detectives were led astray by his deceitful claims…