1987 Cold Case Sexual Assault

MEDIA NOTE: To view the video above, click on the play button. To see a version without captions and music, click HERE.

What began as an unsolved sexual assault nearly 40 years ago in Deerfield Beach ended this year when the deputy who first responded to the case revisited it, and this time, got answers.

As DNA testing has made major advancements over the years, Broward Sheriff’s Office Detective Andrew Gianino, who was one of the original responding deputies, believed that a 1987 case of an elderly woman sexually assaulted needed to be re-examined. With the assistance of BSO’s Crime Lab analysts and Crime Scene detectives, a suspect DNA profile was identified and a match was made with suspect Gregory Rollison.

The heinous crime occurred around 2 a.m. in July 1987 at a home in the 300 block of North Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach. Detectives said the 85-year-old victim was in her apartment when the suspect entered her residence through a sliding door on her enclosed balcony. This was after the suspect scaled the side of the building, attempted to enter another apartment and then ultimately entered the victim’s apartment. The victim was sleeping when the suspect tied her up and assaulted her twice at knifepoint. Then he stole items from her apartment and fled.

In 1987, the City of Deerfield Beach had its own police department that initially responded to the call. In 1990, the city partnered with BSO to contract for law enforcement services. That’s when BSO took over the investigation.

Just ten days later there was another violent attack with similar circumstances just miles away. Investigators had their suspicions and they even had a name, Gregory Rollison. But without DNA technology or a positive identification from the victim, they couldn’t move forward with the case.

Years passed and the files sat. But Detective Gianino never forgot. With advances in DNA technology and grants secured by BSO to re-examine cases 30, 40 even 50 years old – the evidence was sent back to the crime lab. This time, science delivered what it couldn’t in 1987. A DNA profile and match to Gregory Rollison.

Rollison was already serving nine years in the California State prison system for attempted murder on a law enforcement officer. On August 2, 2026, he was extradited to Broward County and faces two counts of sexual battery and one count of armed burglary of a dwelling for the 1987 attack.

“In a case like this where I was on scene in 1987 and physically met the victim, and now all these years later she’s passed away, it feels like it went full circle, and we were able to provide her some rest, if there is such a thing for her,” Det. Gianino said. “I think it’s really important for people to know and to maintain hope. So long as there’s DNA there’s always a chance.”

Even though the victim in this case has passed away, the case didn’t end with her. It will end in a courtroom.