DNA Testing Clears NY Man of Sexual Assault Charge



Faulty eyewiness ID again. Pacyon was arrested based partly on leads generated by a widely distributed composite sketch of the attacker. He was convicted based on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of one woman who positively identified him

DNA tests have cleared the name of Douglas Pacyon, who served a prison term in the 1980's for sexual assault. Pacyon was accused of sexually assaulting two women in May of 1984. Paycon was acquitted of the charges relating to the first victim, but convicted on the charges relating to the second. He was sentenced to a prison term and was released in 1990.

In May 2008, Paycon's attorney filed a motion seeking to have forensic DNA testing done on items of evidence from the case. In January 2009, forensic tests found that Mr. Paycon was excluded as a male contributor to the genetic material present in the rape kit of the second victim.

The results let the District Attorney's Office to conduct a post-conviction investigation to determine if Mr. Paycon was wrongfully convicted.

Further DNA tests revealed that both victims in the sexual assault case against Mr. Paycon were assaulted by the same man. Although the DNA forensic analysis cannot currently identify the perpetrator, the results do show that man responsible for the assaults is not Douglas Paycon.

As a result, Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita submitted an affidavit to dismiss the indictment of Mr. Paycon. The motion is expected to be ruled on Monday afternoon.

Original report here



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