Authorities thought they'd solved a cold-case rape that happened in a downtown St. Paul park in 1993 when a DNA match confirmed a suspect's identity last year.
But last week the alleged victim told an investigator she'd made up the story of the rape. The woman, then a 14-year-old runaway, said she'd had consensual sex with a 15-year-old boy.
Charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct were dismissed Monday against Armando Eddie Gillette, 30. Because the alleged crime occurred when he was a juvenile, he was originally charged as a juvenile and was certified to stand trial as an adult in September.
Jack Rhodes, chief of staff for the Ramsey County attorney's office, said the woman is now serving a life sentence at the South Dakota Women's Prison in Pierre, S.D., in connection with a homicide.
She apparently wanted to clear her conscience about the alleged sexual assault, Rhodes said. He did not identify the woman because she was a juvenile when the alleged attack took place.
According to the charges, the girl reported to police in July 1993 that she was sleeping on a bench in Mears Park when a male punched her and raped her. Evidence was collected at that time and sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis, according to court documents.
In July 2007, the BCA said that DNA found on the girl matched that of Gillette, who had submitted a DNA sample because of a prior conviction. Gillette was confirmed as the suspect when another sample was taken last January.
Gillette is currently serving time at the Rush City prison for a theft-related conviction. He is due to be released in about eight months. He has a criminal record in Minnesota that includes convictions for receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools, theft, check forgery and interfering with a 911 call.
