Theif caught by taking a DNA sample from Girl's cheek he kissed

Thief claims he kissed the captive to 'allay her trauma'

A jewellery thief who kissed his bound-and-gagged hostage on the cheek was caught by the traces of DNA he left behind.

Along with an accomplice, the unnamed 20-year-old had followed the woman, 56, from her jewellers in Paris's 20th arrondissement to her apartment before bursting in.

They tied her to a chair before pouring what they told her was petrol over her head and threatening to set her on fire if she didn't help them to rob her shop.

A jewel thief

Armed with the codes for the alarm system, one of the thieves then ransacked the shop, stealing cash and jewels.

The other stood guard over the jeweller, identified by the paper only as Anne, for four hours. But before releasing her he made a terrible mistake.

He kissed her on the cheek.

Once freed by her captors, the shop-owner immediately called for police and told them in detail what she had suffered, including the kiss.

'This hoodlum planted a kiss on her cheek, apparently in a sign of compassion after the terrible ordeal she’d just been through,' a police source told Le Parisien.

'There was a small hope that they would be able to isolate the genetic prints of her assailant.

'His DNA was indeed singled out and then registered in the national genetic print database.'

The evidence later led them to a man who was detained in the south of France on suspicion of another crime.

The man has said he was just a lookout and that he kissed the jeweller to 'allay her trauma'. He was remanded in custody while police were still looking for his accomplice, Le Parisien said.

Contacted by Reuters, the police declined to confirm the news report.