Man Exonerated For 1985 E Harlem Sexual Assault: DA

EAST HARLEM, NY — A man who served a full 25-year prison sentence after being wrongfully convicted for a 1984 sexual assault at an East Harlem public housing development was exonerated by a state judge, according to prosecutors and lawyers from the Innocence Project.

Rafael Ruiz, 60, had his conviction for the 1984 crime vacated Tuesday due to newly-discovered DNA evidence netted from an investigation by the Innocence Project and the New York County District Attorney’s Office’s Conviction Integrity Program.

Ruiz had been released after serving out his sentence. Before his conviction, Ruiz turned down a deal to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence, according to the Innocence Project. If he had took the plea deal, Ruiz's maximum sentence would have been three years in prison.

"I am thankful to the Innocence Project for all their work to make today a reality," Ruiz said in a statement. "I lost 25 years of my life because I insisted upon my innocence and rejected plea bargains. Today feels like a huge burden off my shoulders and I look forward to living a good life moving forward."

Ruiz was convicted for an April 1984 sexual assault that took place on the roof of an East Harlem building. Innocence Project attorney Seema Saifee described the police investigation into the crime as an "inadequate investigation marked by unduly suggestive identification procedures."

Police took Ruiz's photo without notifying him that it would be used in a photo array presented to the assault victim. Every other photograph was of a man with an afro, even though the victim made no mention that the man who assaulted her had the hairstyle. The victim eventually identified Ruiz as her attacker — a man called "Ronnie," a name which Ruiz never used.

Ruiz was identified as a suspect by police when the victim pointed out an apartment that she was taken to on the night of her assault. Ruiz's brother and sister-in-law were home when police knocked on the door, telling officers that Ruiz had stayed in the apartment at some time in the previous week. A man named Ronnie lived just down the hall, according to the investigation conducted by the Innocence project.

Testing of the victim's rape kit excluded Ruiz from the crime. None of the samples collected during the initial investigation matched Ruiz's DNA, lawyers said.