On October 17, 1978, a man wearing a ski mask and armed with a knife broke into a home in East Farmingdale, New York. He raped the woman who lived there and gave her superficial cuts with a utility knife before leaving.
At the time, the woman only reported to police that she had been robbed.
On September 22, 1981, the woman returned to her home, where she was still living with her family, and found a man inside the house.
The man, who was not wearing a mask, said he was “back for another visit.” He raped her and fled with $340.
The woman called the police and was taken to the hospital where a rape kit was taken. Later, she found a note under the windshield wiper of her car that said, “Don’t pursue this. You have a very cute daughter.” The victim, who was married, had three children, including an 11-year-old daughter.
The victim was shown a police book of about 500 photographs. She identified 22-year-old Kerry Kotler as her attacker. At the time, Kotler had a conviction for statutory rape.
On September 28, 1981, Kotler was arrested. The 33-year-old victim then viewed a live lineup and identified Kotler both by sight and from hearing his voice.
Kotler was charged in both crimes with two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree robbery, and two counts of first-degree burglary.
Kotler went to trial in March 1992 in Suffolk County Supreme Court. The prosecution contended that because of the comment that he was “back for another visit,” Kotler was the perpetrator in the 1978 crime, although the victim could not identify the person who attacked her at that time.
The victim identified him as her attacker in the 1981 incident and said she recognized his voice.
Semen found on the victim’s underwear was analyzed by Ira DuBey, the chief forensic serologist at the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory. He appropriately characterized it as consistent with Kotler’s blood type. He said that Kotler’s blood type would be expected to appear in 3 percent of the population.
Kotler did not testify.
On March 25, 1982, , a jury convicted Kotler of two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree burglary, and one count of first-degree robbery. He was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
His appeals were unsuccessful.
In February 1989, Kotler, now represented by the Innocence Project, was successful in having the biological evidence sent to Lifecodes Inc., for DNA testing. However, Lifecodes reported that the amount of DNA was insufficient for testing and returned the evidence.
The evidence then was sent to Forensic Science Associates, the California DNA laboratory run by Dr. Edward Blake. More advanced Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing revealed that Kotler was not the source of the semen on the victim’s underwear.
The prosecution resisted, contending that the profile found could have been a mixture of a consensual partner and Kotler. The evidence was then sent to the Center for Blood Research in Boston, which reported that its findings were the same as Dr. Blake’s. The victim’s husband also was excluded.
In March 1992, based on these results, the Innocence Project filed a motion to vacate the judgment.
In addition to the DNA results, the Innocence Project cited the withholding of evidence by the prosecution, including police reports that showed the victim’s description of the assailant to be quite different from Kotler and that her initial identification was less than positive—she said he was a “look-a-like.”
After a hearing, Kotler’s convictions were vacated on December 1, 1992. Two weeks later, on December 14, 1992, the prosecution dismissed the charges.
Kotler subsequently filed a federal civil rights lawsuit and settled the case for $1.5 million in damages from Suffolk County. He also filed a claim for compensation in the New York Court of Claims and was awarded $1,512,000.
In 1997, Kotler was sentenced to 21 years in prison after being convicted of a different sexual assault in 1995. He was linked to that crime by DNA testing.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 02-19-2026
