At 10:30 p.m. on January 8, 1983, a 17-year-old girl was walking on the street in Newburgh, New York, when a man approached. He pointed a gun at her and forced her to walk into nearby woods. There, he forced her to disrobe and raped her. After the man fled, the victim, identified as A.A., put her clothes back on and walked to her boyfriend’s house, where she told him she had been raped.
A.A. spent the night, but did not change her clothes or bathe. The next morning she went to the hospital, where a rape kit was taken and police were notified. Her clothing was collected as evidence.
In March 1983, the police put a photograph of 24-year-old Victor Ortiz, who had prior a sex crime conviction in Florida, into a photographic lineup. A.A. identified Ortiz as her attacker.
On March 24, 1983, Ortiz was arrested. He was charged with one count of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree sodomy.
Ortiz went to trial in January 1984 in Orange County Supreme Court. The victim identified him as her attacker. Her boyfriend testified about that she told him about the rape and that she had not bathed or changed her clothes.
On January 17, 1984, Ortiz was convicted of all three charges. He was sentenced to 12½ to 25 years in prison.
The New York Appellate Division affirmed the convictions and sentenced in 1988. In 1992, Ortiz filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petition was denied in 1993.
In 1994, Ortiz contacted the Innocence Project asking for help in obtaining DNA testing. In 1995, after the rape kit and other physical evidence had been located, the Orange County District Attorney’s office agreed to testing.
The evidence was sent to Forensic Science Associates (FSA), a California DNA laboratory, along with a sample of Ortiz’s blood.
In 1996, FSA reported that DNA testing excluded Ortiz as the source of spermatozoa on the evidence. On October 24, 1996, his conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed. He was released, having served nearly 13 years in prison.
In 2000, Ortiz was awarded $530,658 in compensation by the state of New York.
– Maurice Possley
Posting Date: 08-29-2011
Last Update Date: 03-02-2026
