DNA test results in new trial for LC man convicted of rape

LAKE CHARLES, La. A 38-year-old Lake Charles man serving a life sentence for a 1997 aggravated rape conviction has been granted a new trial after prosecutors conceded that D-N-A gathered from the victim did not match the defendant's.

State district court Judge Kent Savoie ordered a new trial for Allen H- Coco. Coco has always denied involvement in the rape, saying he was misidentified.

Judge Greg Lyons, who found Coco guilty of both aggravated rape and aggravated burglary, sentenced Coco, a prior felon, to life in prison without parole on the rape count and a concurrent 15-year term on the burglary count.

Coco allegedly broke into an apartment in May, 1995, and sexually assaulted a 28-year-old woman.