A convicted Valley rapist claims he was forced to plead guilty
Photographer: KNXV
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 02/25/2013
PHOENIX - A convicted Valley rapist is changing his story. Dejuan Donaldson claims he was forced to plead guilty. And now he wants to clear his name.
Dejuan Donaldson is convicted of raping girls ages 10, 12, 17. Police say he would approach each girl and take them to a vacant home and rape them. DNA evidence from all three cases matched Donaldson. His fingerprints were also found on a victim’s phone near by.
But during an jailhouse interview, Donaldson says it is not his DNA.
“The people who process the DNA mislabeled mine. I know if it is retested I can prove I’m innocent,” Donaldson said.
While he says he has documentation that the DNA isn’t his, MCSO records reveal Donaldson tried to tamper with the DNA evidence. According to MCSO, Donaldson switched jail cells with another inmate around the time a second DNA sample was scheduled to be collected. Notes detailing the plan were also found inside jail cells.
A judge denied Donaldson’s request to take back his plea. He is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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