Kerry Kotler

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Charge:	"Rape, Burglary and Robbery"
Sentence:	25 to 50 years
Years Imprisoned:	11
Year Crime:	1978
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	1992
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Suffolk
City of Crime:	Farmingdale
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Kerry Kotler was wrongly convicted of twice raping an East Farmingdale housewife at knifepoint. The first assault was in 1978 and the second was in 1981. The victim identified Kotler first from a photo book, then by his voice, and finally by a live lineup. Kotler was convicted by a jury in 1982 based on the victim's in-court identification. He was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison. Kerry was exonerated and released in December 1992 when DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded him as the woman's assailant. Kotler was awarded a total of $3,212,000 compensation: $1,712,000 from the State of New York in 1994, and $1,500,000 from a settlement of his federal civil rights lawsuit against Sufflok County in 1995. DNA evidence came back to bite Kotler. Kotler was convicted in 1997 of raping a 20-year-old student at the Southampton campus of Long Island University on Aug. 12, 1995, based on DNA evidence. After the assault Kotler used a bottle of water to wash his victim that he told her would remove evidence linking him to the crime. However, semen in the victim's clothing was matched to Kotler's DNA, and hairs found in the victim's clothing were matched to the DNA of Kotler's dog who was in the car into which he lured the woman by claiming to be a police officer. On October 24, 1997 Kotler was sentenced to 7 to 21 years in prison."
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous eyewitness identification.
Innocence Proved By:	Post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded Kerry Kotler as the woman's assailant.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$3,212,000 total. $1,712,000 (State of New York) and $1,500,000 (Sufflok County)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	23
Age When Released:	34
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	Innocence Project database
Information Location 1:	http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=19
Information Source 2:	"Man Freed After a DNA Test Is Sentenced in a Second Rape, By John T. McQuiston (Staff writer), The New York Times, October 24, 1997"
Information Location 2:	http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/24/nyregion/man-freed-after-a-dna-test-is-sentenced-in-a-second-rape.html
Information Source 3:	"Cleared of Rape by DNA, Man Is Accused in 2d Case, By David Stout (Staff writer), The New York Times, April 9, 1996"
Information Location 3:	http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/09/nyregion/cleared-of-rape-by-dna-man-is-accused-in-2d-case.html
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Kerry Kotler

Charge:

"Rape, Burglary and Robbery"

Sentence:

25 to 50 years

Years Imprisoned:

11

Year Crime:

1978

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

1992

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Suffolk

City of Crime:

Farmingdale

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous eyewitness identification.

Innocence Proved By:

Post-conviction DNA testing of crime scene evidence excluded Kerry Kotler as the woman's assailant.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$3,212,000 total. $1,712,000 (State of New York) and $1,500,000 (Sufflok County)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

23

Age When Released:

34

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

Innocence Project database

Information Location 1:

http://www.innocenceproject.org/case/display_profile.php?id=19

Information Source 2:

"Man Freed After a DNA Test Is Sentenced in a Second Rape, By John T. McQuiston (Staff writer), The New York Times, October 24, 1997"

Information Location 2:

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/24/nyregion/man-freed-after-a-dna-test-is-sentenced-in-a-second-rape.html

Information Source 3:

"Cleared of Rape by DNA, Man Is Accused in 2d Case, By David Stout (Staff writer), The New York Times, April 9, 1996"

Information Location 3:

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/09/nyregion/cleared-of-rape-by-dna-man-is-accused-in-2d-case.html

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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