DNA evidence helps free man of attempted rape

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Kenneth King gets emotional when he talks about his 91-year-old grandmother, and the months he spent locked up unable to see her.

This is time he will never get back.

"If this case didn't happen, she probably wouldn't have gone into depression and I could have been with her every step of the way," said King.

Instead, he was behind bars at Rikers, IDed by a witness who picked him out of a lineup.

He was charged with the attempted rape of a woman last September near a bust stop along the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone.

A crime in progress was stopped by a former Marine who happened to be in the area.

A police sketch led police to the 41-year-old.

For 9 months, that question was hanging over his head. The Queens DA's office pressed forward with their case against him. It took 7 months before a DNA test was ordered.

"The case was dismissed - the DNA exonerates him. It shows that he was excluded as a person who grabbed that woman's shirt," said District Attorney Scott Dufault.

However, now King says he's living another type of nightmare, trying to clear his name. He acknowledges a troubled past in his 20s including an attempted robbery, which he served time for.

---
WAKE UP WITH EYEWITNESS NEWS! Click here to download the WABC Eyewitness News Alarm Clock app from iTunes. or search WABC or 7online in the app store.

Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news, jeff pegues

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•