The man convicted in a child rape case in 2019 and whose guilt was called into question following a review by the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office Conviction Integrity Unit will get a new trial, a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge ruled on Friday.

Joel Terry, 55, was convicted by a Lucas County Common Pleas Court jury in early 2019 of five counts of rape for assaults that took place on March 5, 2017, involving a then 7-year-old girl.

Terry’s case was the first reviewed by the Conviction Integrity Unit following its creation in July, 2024. New DNA testing performed by a Pittsburgh laboratory from samples collected as part of a child rape case has revealed the presence of no DNA from Terry, the Prosecutor’s Office announced in November, 2024.

“Our responsibility is to pursue justice,

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