By Sean Hauser
s.hauser@krdo.com

PUEBLO - Police have confirmed that DNA tests have linked 47-year-old Robert Bruce to an unsolved rape case in Pueblo.  The case dates back to July of 2006, near Pueblo Community College.

Bruce was served with an arrest warrant on the charges while in custody at the Pueblo County Jail Wednesday afternoon.  He is currently facing several charges of sexual assault as well as the attempted murder of a Pueblo Police Officer and his family.  Bruce allegedly tried to blow up Officer Nathan Pruces' home using a propane tank.  Pruce was set to testify against Bruce in court the same day.

Police arrested Bruce the night of the incident for failure to appear in court and he was later charged with attempted murder.  Several weeks after his arrest, DNA tests confirmed that he was linked to the "Ether Man" Rapes that date all the way back to the 90's in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  He is accused of raping at least 12 women at the University of New Mexico by using a chemically soaked rag to render them unconscious.

After he was linked to those cases, police agencies from all over the country began looking into the possibility that he may be a suspect in other unsolved rape cases.  DNA tests are currently being processed but he is believed to be a suspect in over 20 cases from all over the country.

Wednesday, the DNA tests taken by Pueblo Police confirmed a match to a victim that they suspected would be linked to Bruce as soon as he was charged with the "Ether Man" rapes.  Unconfirmed reports are that DNA tests have now linked Bruce to at least 20 rape cases.

He appeared in a Pueblo courtroom Monday afternoon where he was given a date for his preliminary hearing to begin on December 30th for his charges of Attempted Murder.  The Pueblo County DA's office says they plan on trying Bruce for his charges in Pueblo before extraditing him to New Mexico.

Stay tuned to NEWSCHANNEL 13 and KRDO.com for updates on this story.