Rapist jailed after his dentures fell out while sexually assaulting woman

Thomas Maupin

A man was recently jailed after leaving his dentures at a crime scene. 67-year-old Thomas Maupin pleaded guilty to raping the 31-year-old woman on August 19, 2001 in the 1200 block of Thomas Street. Maupin attacked a random woman on the street. He had a weapon and forced her into an alley, where he sexually assaulted her and forced her to perform sex acts on him. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee accepted the plea deal with prosecutors and sentenced Maupin to eight years in prison.
The victim finally got justice after it took the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation 16 years to get around to test the DNA from the dentures. This occurred due to backlog, according to authorities, despite the fact that investigators found Maupin's name imprinted on the dentures. The dentures were made while Maupin was serving a prison sentence for the 1988 murder of a 6-year-old girl in Washington state. He was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Maupin then pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was later released.