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Advocates: Rape DNA Testing Delay Shouldn’t Affect Charges
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Prosecutors and advocates for rape victims are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reinstate charges against a Cleveland man accused of attacking a woman in 1993.
The groups say a lower court’s dismissal of the charges creates a legal precedent that could jeopardize thousands of unsolved rapes being re-investigated thanks to improved DNA testing.
At issue is the 2013 indictment of Demetrius Jones for a 1993 rape based on evidence found when an old rape kit was tested.
Jones’ attorneys say investigators knew from the beginning that Jones was a suspect and closed the case after a limited investigation.
They say prosecutors never questioned Jones’ mother, known as a key witness in his defense who died before the new charges were brought.
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