Twin sentenced in U.S. rape case to 15-20 years in prison

A man who won two mistrials in a rape case after juries deadlocked over DNA evidence that could have come from his identical twin was sentenced Friday to 15 to 20 years in prison.

Photo: Twin sentenced in U.S. rape case to 15-20 years in prison

Darrin Fernandez, 31, was convicted last week in the April 2001 rape of a Masschusetts woman. His conviction came during his third trial.

Juries in two earlier trials deadlocked, citing the fact that because identical twins have the same genetic profile, it was impossible to tell whether semen left on the victim's pillow case came from him or his twin brother.

Fernandez will begin serving his sentence after he finishes serving a separate 10- to 15-year sentence he received in an earlier rape case. He has served about 3Ѕ years of that sentence so far.

During Fernandez's third trial, the victim in the earlier rape case testified against Fernandez as prosecutors urged the jury to convict him based on his "pattern of behavior" rather than his DNA. Prosecutors did not seek to introduce her testimony during the first two trials, saying they did not want to put her through the trauma of testifyin, reports AP.

O.Ch.