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TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – A Toledo man has been found guilty of rape and kidnapping despite a DNA test that shows he is not a match.

In court Wednesday, a jury of five women and seven men found Jeffery Shoecraft guilty of raping and kidnapping a woman back in January.

According to police reports, the alleged rape took place in the victim’s car. The victim told police Shoecraft got into her car in the parking lot of Barnes and Noble on Monroe Street, forced her to drive away and then raped her.

The victim then gave police a picture of Shoecraft she was able to take during the incident as evidence. Shoecraft was then arrested back in February.

He has been held behind bars since then, because he could not afford to post bond.

When DNA from the incident was not a match with Shoecraft, he denied a plea deal from the state. Rather than pleading guilty to  lesser charges, Shoecraft chose to maintain his innocence and go to trial.

However, police say a good sample was not obtained in the rape kit and when tested at the lab it did not include or exclude Shoecraft.

On Wednesday, the jury found him guilty. It’s a decision that has Shoecraft’s family shaking their heads.

“That don’t make no sense. I will make sure people know this. This ain’t right,” said Shoecraft’s brother Jodi Shoecraft. “My mother is 75-years-old she just turned 75 yesterday and I don’t know how long they are looking at putting him away. 22 years, that don’t make sense. The DNA is negative, it’s right here that don’t make sense.”

There are a lot of factors that make up a case. The jurors heard from a DNA expert explaining why the there may have not been a match. Also, a police officer, the nurse who examined the victim, and the victim herself took the stand as witnesses in the case.

The family says they will look into appealing Shoecraft’s conviction.

 

Source:  WTOL