A man dubbed the "Ramsey Street Rapist" pled guilty to 24 charges in court on Friday after he was arrested in 2018 for a string of sexual assaults committed around the Ramsey Street corridor in Fayetteville between 2006 and 2008.
Darold Wayne Bowden, 47, pled guilty to rape, burglary and kidnapping on Friday and will spend at least a quarter century in prison for his crimes.
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Judge Jim Ammons removed his mask while speaking to Bowden in court, saying he wanted him to see his face.
He ordered that Bowden get psychological counseling and did not provide Bowden with any chance that he could be released early.
"You have inflicted unimaginable and immeasurable pain," Ammons said. If the case had gone to trial, Bowden could have been sentenced to life in prison.
Five of Bowden's six victims spoke in court. Most of them were inside their homes when Bowden broke in at night and attacked them.
Because they are victims of sexual assault, WRAL News will not show their faces, but audio recordings will be shared.
"He violated me. He terrorized me, and he crushed my dignity," one victim said in court.
As each victim spoke, Bowen did not look at them.
"This attack left me mentally and physically traumatized, in a state where I could not function, sleep or work," another victim said.
The rapes happened at several other apartment complexes, including Heather Ridge Apartments. One victim was jogging near Northwood Temple on Ramsey Street when she was tackled from behind.
The victims ranged in ages 14 to 44. Deanne Gerdes, executive director of Rape Crisis of Cumberland County, said many of the women came into town for the hearing.
Police said they used genetic genealogy to link Bowden to a series of unsolved sexual assaults that occurred near North Fayetteville Street and Ramsey Street between March 2006 and January 2008. The sexual assaults instilled fear among residents in the area who were afraid of becoming victims.
Somerindyke said the department devoted "thousands of hours" to investigate and solve the crimes.
WRAL News has tracked this case since March 2006, which is when two sexual assaults were reported within days of each other at the Kings Grant Condominiums on Ramsey Street.
The Fayetteville Police Department's cold case unit revived public attention about the case in December 2016, saying they would not give up.
Police said Bowden had been in trouble in the past, having been arrested for a series of petty crimes. Investigators released a series of mug shots taken of Bowden during the years so as to show any would-be victims during the years what he looked like at the time. The pictures date back to January 2003 and include images that were taken during and immediately after his arrest by Fayetteville police.
Investigators said previously that consistent DNA at crime scenes led authorities to suspect that one man, whom they named “Ramsey Street Rapist,” was responsible for all six reported rape cases.
"He gave no thought to what he did, and he has no remorse for his monstrous, greedy actions, and how it's affected not only my life but all my loved ones and friends too," another victim said in court on Friday.