A Los Angeles judge was expected Monday to exonerate a man convicted of three rapes after DNA evidence linked the crimes to a serial rapist wanted for assaults dating back two decades.
Luis Vargas has been in prison for 16 years for crimes he didn’t commit, according to the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law, which took up his case in 2012.
Spokesman Chris Saunders said judge William Ryan was expected to throw out Vargas’ convictions during an afternoon hearing.
DNA tests found that the crimes Vargas was convicted of were actually committed by the so-called Teardrop Rapist, who is known for a tattoo of a teardrop under his eye, Saunders said. Witnesses linked Vargas to the crime because he had a similar tattoo.
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