1 rape, 2 fires: In southwest Missouri, new evidence raises questions in child's sex assault
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New evidence suggests a Missouri man may have been wrongly targeted in a child rape case for which he is serving four consecutive life terms.
Jeffery Allen Dickson was convicted of kidnapping, rape and other crimes in an April 2008 attack on a 7-year-old girl. The child testified that she was attacked in a house that burned.
But new evidence unearthed by Dickson's appeals attorney and reviewed as part of a five-month Associated Press investigation indicates police may have confused a house that burned the night the child was attacked with one that burned earlier.
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Also, DNA evidence tying Dickson to the crime was tainted during testing in the state crime lab.
Public defender Valerie Leftwich is appealing Dickson's conviction. A hearing was set for Tuesday but has been delayed.