MONROE — A Monroe man was sentenced to a consecutive 10-year sentence Oct. 23 on combined charges of burglary and third-degree sexual assault.  

The assault case, previously a cold-case from 1998, was solved after investigators got a break when the suspect was arrested in 2022, and his DNA sample matched an offender database. As a result, Ryan A. Berg, 50, of Monroe was charged with second-degree sexual assault and burglary in connection with an incident that occurred 26 years ago.

The call to investigate the January 2022 welfare check reportedly came from a Freeport number and led to Berg’s arrest on several child abuse felonies, including physical abuse of a child and intimidation.

At that time, he also was charged with intimidating a police officer or law enforcement official, another felony. His DNA was taken at that time and loaded into the criminal database, according to District Attorney Craig Nolen.

After pleading no contest last month, Berg will now have to register as a lifetime sex offender, according to Nolen. His sentence is consecutive to his present sentence for Repeated Acts of Child Abuse, Nolen added.