Nearly four decades after an 85-year-old woman was tied up and sexually assaulted in her Deerfield Beach apartment, authorities said they've identified and arrested the man responsible for the crime.

The incident happened around 2 a.m. on July 16, 1987, at an apartment building in the 300 block of North Federal Highway.

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Broward Sheriff's Office officials said the suspect scaled the side of the building and attempted to enter one unit before making his way into the victim's apartment through a sliding door on her enclosed balcony.

The victim was sleeping when she was tied up and sexually assaulted twice at knifepoint by the suspect, who stole some of her belongings and fled.

Ten days later and just miles away, there was another violent attack with similar circumstances, and detectives identified a possible suspect: Gregory Rollison.

But it wasn't until the case was re-examined with advanced DNA technology that authorities said they were able to link Rollison to the crime thanks to a DNA match.

Rollison, now 60, was already behind bars in California, serving nine years in state prison for attempted murder on a law enforcement officer, officials said.

On Sunday, he was extradited to Broward to face two counts of sexual battery and one count of armed burglary in the 1987 case.

The victim has since passed away but BSO Det. Andrew Gianino, who was one of the deputies who originally responded to the 1987 crime scene, said there's some sense of closure.

 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,  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. 

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