A judge on Monday released a man who spent nearly 18 years in prison on a charge he raped a 10-year-old girl after a lab re-examining cases across Ohio showed that his DNA profile doesn't match evidence from the crime scene.
Robert McClendon, 52, was the first inmate to be tested in the review.
He was transported Monday from the Chillicothe Correctional Institution to a courtroom where he met with lawyers from the Ohio Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic based at the University of Cincinnati.
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Charles Schneider, citing the DNA test, granted McClendon's release from custody.
"You know, you go through times where you feel it might not happen, but you never, ever give up hope," McClendon said after his release. "You don't ever use the word, 'never happen.' It's not healthy."
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