Man Sought In 1988 Rape That Convicted Wrong Man
Police: DNA Links 47-Year-Old To Rape
POSTED: 6:42 pm EST January 31, 2008
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut police want a man imprisoned in Virginia in a 1988 rape case that resulted in the conviction of the wrong man.
Hartford police have obtained an arrest warrant for Duane Foster, 47, on charges of first-degree kidnapping.
Hartford police Detective Michael Sheldon, investigators at the chief state's attorney's cold case unit and state Department of Correction officials announced on Thursday that a DNA match links Foster to the Jan. 22, 1988, sexual assault on Charter Oak Avenue.
According to Hartford police, Foster also went by the names Leonard Martin, Anthony Martin and Dwayne Foster, and has lived in Hartford and Middletown.
Foster is in prison in Virginia on unrelated charges and remains listed as an escapee from the Connecticut Department of Correction. Connecticut officials are seeking Foster's extradition, and a judge has set bond for Foster at $250,000.
James Calvin Tillman was imprisoned from the time of his arrest in 1988 until 2006 when he was freed after a DNA test showed he was not the attacker. The General Assembly and Gov. Jodi Rell last year awarded him $5 million for his wrongful conviction.
The rape victim identified Tillman, then 26, as the attacker. He and Foster are of similar height and build and have similar facial features.