A Hemet man was found guilty Wednesday after DNA evidence taken during a theft conviction linked him to two unsolved rapes committed roughly 10 years ago. Kevin Lawrence Saint John, 45, faces 40 years to life in state prison after a jury convicted him of two felony counts of forcible rape, which carried sentence enhancement allegations, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. In 2012, Saint John's DNA was entered into a state database after he was convicted of receiving stolen property. His DNA matched with evidence collected during an investigation into two rapes committed in 2004, the district attorney's office said in a statement. He was ultimately arrested at his home in Rancho Cucamonga. Prosecutors said Saint John entered a 7-Eleven on Aug. 10, 2004, forced a 21-year-old store employee into a freezer and raped her. He used empty boxes to shield his face from surveillance cameras as he exited the store. Nearly a month later, he approached another 21-year-old woman, who was using a payphone in a Walmart parking lot, and offered to help her find a ride home. After she agreed to the ride, he drove her to an isolated construction area in Highland and raped … Continue reading →

BANGKOK: A DNA test of a Japanese man embroiled in a surrogacy scandal in Thailand shows that he is the biological father of at least 15 babies, police said Wednesday (Aug 20). But his motives remained a mystery two weeks after the discovery of nine babies in a Bangkok apartment triggered a human trafficking probe. The alleged father, who is reported by Japanese media to be the son of an IT millionaire, has left Thailand but voluntarily sent the DNA sample to try to clear his name. "It is confirmed that he is the father of all the babies - the 15 babies that we checked," Thai police doctor Lieutenant General Jongjate Aojanepong told AFP after the preliminary result. The authorities still hope that the man will return to Thailand to help with the investigation, police Lieutenant General Kokiat Wongvorachart told reporters. "If he comes, we will get clear information from him," he added. Asked about the content of a written explanation submitted by the Japanese through his lawyer, Kokiat said: "He said he can take care of them. He wants to have children." "From our checks of the living conditions of the babies, so far there has not been … Continue reading →

WINFIELD A judge will allow new DNA testing that could exonerate a Hurricane man whos spent more than 15 years in prison after being convicted of raping his 5-year-old daughter. Putnam Circuit Judge Joseph Reeder denied a request Wednesday made by Joseph Lavigne Jr. for a new trial, but granted his request to allow testing of various evidence that has either never been DNA tested before or hasnt been tested with current methods. Lavigne is serving a jail sentence of 22 to 60 years. The evidence includes hairs collected during his daughters examination at a hospital following the February 1996 rape and at a subsequent evaluation at the hospital the following month. It also includes towels and washcloths gathered from Lavignes home and swabs taken as part of a rape kit. Lavignes daughter, Katie Haught Kelly, has publicly said she doesnt believe he raped her, and the request for DNA testing referenced an affidavit in which she states shes absolutely certain he didnt do it. Joe has never disputed that someone abducted his daughter while she was sleeping at home and brutally assaulted her, Lavignes request to allow the testing states. He adamantly denies, however, that he was the perpetrator. … Continue reading →