AUSTIN – The man responsible for raping at least four women between 2018 and 2024 is in custody following a joint investigation by the Texas Rangers and the Beaumont Police Department. Eric J. Gipson Sr., 40, of Beaumont, was indicted for his crimes by a Jefferson Co. jury on Aug. 20.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 26, 2024, a female victim was walking near a gas station in Beaumont. A male suspect — now identified as Gipson — approached the victim from behind and took her behind a nearby church. Gipson forced the woman to remove her clothing and held a knife to her throat as he sexually assaulted her. DNA collected during the investigation was submitted to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) — a national database to check for possible DNA matches between arrestees and unsolved cases nationwide — through the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Crime Laboratory Division.
Then, in January 2025, the DPS Crime Laboratory in Houston notified the Texas Rangers of a possible DNA match between the 2024 case and three other similar cold case sexual assaults in the Beaumont area from 2018, 2019 and 2020 — indicating a potential serial rapist in Jefferson Co. Upon review and further investigation of all four cases with possible DNA matches, the Texas Rangers and Beaumont Police Detectives identified Eric J. Gipson Sr. as the suspect.
Investigators collected a DNA sample from Gipson on May 8, 2025, for testing and comparison through DPS’ Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) program. The program is funded by the Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance (DOJ/BJA), which provides investigative funding for agencies across the United States to further unsolved sexual assaults and sexually related homicides, aiming to bring justice to the victims and their families.
Using SAKI grant funds, the Gipson’s sample was sent to DPS’ Houston Crime Laboratory, which gave a positive match. On Aug. 20, 2025, a Jefferson Co. grand jury indicted Gipson on two counts of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault. The Texas Rangers and Beaumont Police Department located and arrested him outside of his place of work the following day.
Investigations into sexual assaults by Gipson continue, and the Texas Rangers and Beaumont Police Department ask anyone with information to please come forward by calling the Beaumont Police Department at (409) 832-1234 or Southeast Texas Crime Stoppers at 409-833-TIPS (8477).
The Texas Rangers would like to thank the Beaumont Police Department and members of DPS’ Houston Crime Laboratory for their dedication, which ultimately led to Gipson’s identification and arrest. Cases like this showcase the importance of collaborative investigative work between the Texas Rangers and our partner law enforcement agencies, bringing justice and closure to victims and their families in unsolved crimes.
