SAN DIEGO – Authorities arrested a 17-year-old convicted felon whose DNA was found at a woman's College Area home where she was raped last week, police said Tuesday.

The teenager, who lives in Rolando and whose name was not released because he is a minor, was arrested Monday evening on suspicion of sexual assault during a traffic stop, according to San Diego police.

The teen, who had been released days earlier from a juvenile detention center, was linked to the attack through DNA, said San Diego sex crimes Lt. Carolyn Kendrick.

He is accused of raping a 47-year-old woman at knifepoint early Wednesday morning in her home on 67th Street, according to detectives. The attacker entered through an unlocked kitchen window about 4 a.m. apparently with the intent to burglarize the home, Kendrick said.

He demanded money from the woman in her bedroom, but when she said she did not have any, he pulled out a knife and raped her, Kendrick said.

She fought back at one point by hitting him on the head with a glass cup, the lieutenant said. He responded by cutting her forearm with the knife and stabbing her in the thigh with a shard of broken glass, Kendrick said.

The victim, who drove herself to the hospital afterward, was “very traumatized,” Kendrick said.

On Monday, investigators processing evidence from the scene got a match on the attacker's DNA, which was already in a local database.

Undercover detectives and patrol officers began watching the teen, whom they believed matched the attacker's description, in City Heights, detectives said.

Officers with police dogs, assisted by a helicopter, stopped the car he was riding in on El Cajon Boulevard in Rolando. He and a passenger were taken into custody.

The teenager, who also had cuts on the back of his head consistent with the attacker's injuries, was booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of first degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and several counts of sexual assault, detectives said.

He has previous convictions for burglary and robbery in 2007 and was also investigated that year for a sexual assault, but the charges were apparently dropped or never filed, Kendrick said.

Investigators also said they plan to run his DNA again through local and statewide databases to see if he can be connected to any unsolved sexual assaults.

 Kristina Davis: (619) 542-4591; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com

Angelica Martinez: (619) 293-1317; angelica.martinez@uniontrib.com