DNA links defendant to 2 rapes, DA says
Wrongly convicted man at arraignment
Utilizing DNA evidence, police were able to arrest a Dorchester man yesterday in connection with a series of unsolved rapes dating back nearly two decades. One of those cases had led to a man being wrongly imprisoned until 2004.
The DNA that had cleared Anthony Powell, 38, of Boston of rape eventually led prosecutors to Jerry Dixon, 35, who was arraigned yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court in the same rape case, along with one other.
"Each year, DNA evidence becomes more and more important to law enforcement. In this instance here, it was critical to solving these cases," Daniel F. Conley, Suffolk district attorney, said in a phone interview. "This is the most recent and best example of this technology."
Powell, who served 12 1/2 years in prison, sat in the second row of the courtroom as Dixon, crouching behind a wall with a plaid shirt over his head, pleaded not guilty to all charges. Powell deferred comment to his lawyer, Howard Friedman.
"He was hoping to see his face," Friedman said in a phone interview after the proceeding. "He rushed over just so he could see the arraignment of the guy who actually did it. He feels like with the DNA, the right person has been caught."
In 2004, investigators searched an FBI database that linked four unsolved Boston rape cases but did not reveal a perpetrator. Based on the forensic findings, a Suffolk grand jury indicted an unknown subject, listed as John Doe, for three rapes that occurred in September 1989, March 1991, and July 1991.
"It was a strategic move because the statute of limitations was nearing its end," Jake Wark, a spokesman for the district attorney, said about the three indictments. The fourth case, which occurred in February 1999, is well within the 15-year limitation period and remains under investigation, Wark said.
Authorities said Dixon was matched this summer to each of the four cases when he submitted to mandatory DNA testing before being released from the Suffolk House of Correction.
He was arraigned yesterday on the two 1991 crimes before Clerk-Magistrate Connie S. Wong, and prosecutors said he could face additional charges related to the 1999 case. Dixon was a juvenile in 1989, so that case cannot be heard in Superior Court, prosecutors said.
Details on two of the rape cases were made available in court records.
In the first case, on March 20, 1991, a man allegedly abducted an 18-year-old woman at knifepoint while she waited at a Roxbury bus stop. He walked her to some woods on Townsend Street and repeatedly raped her, according to prosecutors. He then fled after allegedly stealing the woman's money and jewelry.
About four months later, in July 1991, a 24-year-old Medford woman looking for an art store in Jamaica Plain stopped to ask a man for directions. The man claimed to be familiar with the art shop and offered to show the woman its location. He led her to the rear of an Armory Street building, threatened her with a knife, beat her, and dragged her behind bushes and raped her, authorities allege.
Dixon was charged on multiple counts related to the crimes, including aggravated rape, rape, kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Wong ordered a combined $1 million cash bail. Dixon is due back in court Aug. 20.
"We will be doing a rigorous investigation into the DNA evidence," said Dixon's lawyer, Veronica J. White, who added that she will call upon an expert to determine whether the samples were properly handled by police.
Dixon was previously charged with rape in a 1996 case in Newton but was found not guilty, prosecutors said. He also faced similar charges in Roxbury District Court in 1999, prosecutors said, but those were dismissed.
Yesterday's arraignment marked another milestone in Powell's efforts to recoup losses from his wrongful imprisonment. He sued police in federal court last year, asserting that they had twisted the results of forensic tests that cast doubt on his guilt, had used unreliable eyewitness identification techniques, and were "deliberately indifferent to evidence" that would have cleared him.
Another wrongful imprisonment case was filed this month by Guy Randolph, 50, of Hyde Park, who was exonerated in May after being wrongly convicted of molesting a 6-year-old girl and spent seven years as a registered sex offender after his release from prison in 2001.
Since 2004, 25 people have filed for compensation with the attorney general's office in connection with wrongful convictions.
Christopher J. Baxter can be reached at cbaxter@globe.com.
