Decades of silence have been broken in New South Wales as cutting-edge DNA technology, once the stuff of science fiction, has brought a suspected serial predator to justice.

The arrest of 77-year-old Robert Wayne Kwan for sexual assaults dating back to the 90s marks a watershed moment for Australian policing, proving that time is no longer a refuge for criminals.

In a breakthrough that echoes the capture of the Golden State Killer, NSW police have utilized Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) to arrest Robert Wayne Kwan. The elderly man is accused of a string of terrifying sexual assaults committed between 1991 and 2002. For over thirty years, the files on these cases gathered dust, the DNA evidence waiting for technology to catch up. That day has finally arrived. By uploading the crime scene DNA to public genealogy databases, investigators were able to trace the suspect’s family tree, narrowing down the pool from millions to just one man.

The Science of Justice

The technique involves comparing DNA found at crime scenes with genetic profiles uploaded by the public to ancestry sites. It allows police to identify distant relatives of the perpetrator—third or fourth cousins—and reverse-engineer the family tree to identify the suspect. This "familial searching" bypasses the limitations of traditional police databases, which only contain the DNA of known offenders. In Kwan’s case, it linked three separate attacks: an 11-year-old girl in 1991, a 16-year-old in 1996, and a 26-year-old woman in 2002.

"He thought he had gotten away with it," said Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty. "He lived his life while his victims lived with the trauma. Today, that changes." The arrest has sent shockwaves through the community, particularly in South Kempsey where Kwan was apprehended. Neighbors described him as a quiet retiree, unaware of the dark secrets his genetic code concealed.

• The Victims: The survivors, now adults, have been notified of the arrest. For them, this moment brings a closure that seemed impossible for decades.
• The Charges: Kwan faces nine counts of sexual assault and multiple kidnapping charges, with police not ruling out further victims coming forward.
• The Precedent: This is the first time NSW police have successfully used FIGG to make an arrest, signaling a new era in cold case investigations across Australia.

No Hiding Place

The arrest of Robert Wayne Kwan serves as a chilling warning to offenders who believe their crimes are buried in the past. The relentless march of technology means that every discarded cigarette butt, every hair follicle, and every drop of blood is a ticking time bomb.

Justice may have been delayed by thirty years, but it has arrived with the precision of a laboratory match. The ghosts of the past are speaking, and thanks to science, we can finally hear them.