Sep 21, 2007 3:39 pm US/Central
DNA Test Reaffirms Dallas Man's Rape Conviction
DALLAS (AP) ―
A DNA test requested by a man convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 1990 reaffirmed his guilt, the Dallas County district attorney said Friday.
Darryl Patrick Goggans filed a motion for post-conviction DNA testing in 2003, which was opposed by the district attorney's office last year. The trial court denied DNA testing, but that decision was overturned by the Dallas Court of Appeals.
After losing the appeal, the DA's office agreed to testing because DNA evidence was still available and could serve to exonerate Goggans. But the sample tested by the Department of Public Safety reaffirmed his guilt, the DA's office said.
"The results in Goggans' case is yet another example of the benefits of post-conviction DNA testing as it reaffirms guilt just as much as it proves innocence," Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said.
Brady Wyatt, Goggans' attorney, declined to comment Friday.
Goggans was convicted in 1990 of sexual assault for attacking a woman who worked at an apartment complex and was showing him a vacant apartment.
Thirteen people from Dallas County have been exonerated since 2001 based on DNA testing, the most of any county in the nation.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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