Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Kengo Iwamoto

 

Charge:

Rape

Sentence:

4 years

Years Imprisoned:

2

Year Crime:

2012

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Japan

County or Region of Crime:

City of Crime:

Kagoshima

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

"Kengo Iwamoto was wrongly convicted in 2014 of raping a 17-year-old girl in Kagoshima, Japan in October 2012. Iwamoto's prosecution was based on his identification by the victim, and expert testimony by a DNA laboratory technician's testimony of a positive DNA match between Iwamoto's DNA and the DNA from saliva found on her breast. The technician testified the quantify of semen recovered from the victim was “too small for analysis.” Iwamoto's defense was that the woman misidentified Iwamoto and she gave contradictory testimony, and the DNA laboratory test may not have been reliable. After his conviction the 21-year-old Iwamoto was sentenced to four years in prison. While his appeal was pending Iwamoto requested additional DNA testing of the semen, which determined that Iwamoto was not the source, and testing of the saliva determined it was also not from Iwamoto. In January 2016 the Fukuoka High Court granted Iwamoto's appeal and ordered his acquittal based on the new exclusionary DNA evidence, and the unreliability of the expert DNA trial testimony. The ruling called into question the reliability of DNA testing conducted on behalf of police and prosecutors, noting that the laboratory staff who worked on Iwamoto's case either had “extremely poor” analysis skills or sought to “hide” an outcome that contradicted the police and prosecutor’s position that Iwamoto was the woman's assailant. On January 27, 2016 Iwamoto's acquittal became final when the Fukuoka High Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to appeal the High Court's ruling. After his acquittal Iwamoto told reporters that he was overjoyed to be free, but “In order to prevent false charges, all cases should be made visible. Investigators should not trust everything victims say and should have doubts when they notice contradictions.” (Japan Times, 1-27-2016)"

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"In January 2016 the Fukuoka High Court granted Iwamoto's appeal and ordered his acquittal based on the new exclusionary DNA evidence, and the unreliability of the expert DNA trial testimony. The ruling called into question the reliability of DNA testing conducted on behalf of police and prosecutors, noting that the laboratory staff who worked on Iwamoto's case either had “extremely poor” analysis skills or sought to “hide” an outcome that contradicted the police and prosecutor’s position that Iwamoto was the woman's assailant. On January 27, 2016 Iwamoto's acquittal became final when the Fukuoka High Public Prosecutor’s Office declined to appeal the High Court's ruling."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

19

Age When Released:

23

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Kagoshima man freed after wrongful rape conviction; police DNA tests called into question, By KYODO, The Japan Times, January 27, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/27/national/crime-legal/dna-cleared-kagoshima-mans-acquittal-girls-12-rape-stands/#.VqpgYb9r0Qo

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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