Crime & Courts

Man convicted of attempted rape at Charlotte greenway sentenced by Mecklenburg judge

A man has pleaded guilty to attempted rape at the McAlpine Creek Greenway.
A man has pleaded guilty to attempted rape at the McAlpine Creek Greenway. Google Maps

A man will spend the next four to nine years in prison for attempted second-degree rape, sexual battery and indecent exposure, according to the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office.

Khalil Boler, 28, pleaded guilty to the crimes last week, according to a news release from the DA’s office.

In addition to prison time, Superior Court Judge Louis Trosch Jr. ordered that Boler spend two years on supervised probation. And he has to register as a sex offender for 30 years.

The charges date back to September 2022, when Boler attacked a woman and tried to rape her and take her phone, according to the news release. She was walking on the McAlpine Creek Greenway, it says, and had minor injuries after fighting him off.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Boler a year later. He was wanted for July 2023 and September 2023 incidents at the University City Target, and after his arrest police investigated to see if he was connected to the greenway case.

Second degree kidnapping, attempted common law robbery, interfering with emergency communications, assault on a female and sexual battery charges were dismissed pursuant to a plea agreement, according to court records.

“DNA analysis was conducted on evidence collected from the McAlpine Creek Greenway case, which included a familial DNA search conducted with assistance from the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory,” the DA’s news release said. “Results of that analysis identified Boler as a potential suspect in the Greenway case.”

That DNA analysis and a description of Boler from the woman on the greenway helped convict him, according to the DA’s office.

This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 5:00 AM.

Ryan Oehrli
The Charlotte Observer
Ryan Oehrli writes about criminal justice for The Charlotte Observer. His reporting has delved into police misconduct, jail and prison deaths, the state’s pardon system and more. He was also part of a team of Pulitzer finalists who covered Hurricane Helene. A North Carolina native, he grew up in Beaufort County.
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