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Aaron Gregory Lucas, Army Officer Who Blamed Twin For Sexual Assaults, Pleads Guilty

Army Officer Who Blamed Twin For Sexual Assaults Pleads Guilty
Reuters
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This booking photo released by the Colorado Springs Police Department shows Army 1st Lt. Aaron G. Lucas, of Alabama. The Army says Lucas, who is being held in the El Paso County jail in Colorado Springs, Colo. on 21 counts including sexual assault on a child, enticement and indecent exposure, was previously awarded medals including the Bronze Star. (AP Photo/Colorado Springs Police Department)

By Keith Coffman

DENVER, Nov 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. Army officer who initially blamed his identical twin brother for a series of sexual assaults on underage girls because they share the same DNA pleaded guilty to the crimes on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

First Lieutenant Aaron Gregory Lucas, an artillery officer stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, indecent exposure and other charges, said Lee Richards, spokeswoman for the El Paso County district attorney's office.

Lucas, 32, was linked by DNA to the crimes in Colorado, as well as to other assaults in Texas and Alabama where he was previously stationed, prosecutors said.

He initially pleaded not guilty to charges that between 2009 and his arrest last year that he either enticed or exposed himself to nearly a dozen girls in the Colorado Springs area, and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl.

A district court judge ruled that Lucas's lawyers could pursue the mistaken identity defense, which Richards said was not backed up by the evidence.

"There was no information uncovered by investigators to suggest his brother had anything to do with this, or that he was even in the same states where the assaults occurred," she said.

Under a plea agreement reached with prosecutors and approved by the judge, Lucas will serve 20 years to life for the assaults, Richards said.

Lucas's lawyer, Theodore McClintock, could not immediately be reached for comment, but the Colorado Springs Gazette newspaper quoted him after the hearing as saying the mistaken identity claim was a "legal, tactical decision."

"He loves his family. He doesn't want to create problems for them," McClintock said, according to the Gazette.

Longtime Colorado criminal lawyer and legal analyst Wil Smith said judges typically allow the defense wide latitude in exploring other possible explanations for incriminating evidence.

"But it's very difficult to argue there were issues with the DNA testing, or there's an alternate suspect when you can't put the other person at the scene of the crime," Smith said.

Lucas is set to be sentenced in February. (Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Leslie Adler)

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Before You Go

10 Major Crimes That Shocked the Nation (SLIDESHOW)
"Young L.A. Girl Slain; Body Slashed in Two" ― L.A.'s Daily News(01 of10)
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On Jan. 15, 1947, the remains of Elizabeth Short were found in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. What made this discovery the stuff of tabloid sensation, however, was the Glasgow smile left on the aspiring actress' face ― made with 3-inch slashes on each side. This, coupled with Short's dark hair, fair complexion and reputation for sporting a dahlia in her hair, led her to be dubbed "The Black Dahlia" in headlines. What followed was a media circus filled with rumors and speculation about the 22-year-old's checkered past. What haunts theorists to this day, apart from the victim's uniquely nightmarish visage, is that the case remains unsolved after some 200 suspects were interviewed and ultimately released, making it one of Hollywood's most lurid legends. (credit:WikiMedia: Trijnstel)
"I Am Not Guilty - Thus Lizzie Borden Pleads Before Judge Hammond at New Bedford." ― Boston Journal(02 of10)
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"Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks. And when she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one." So goes the lurid nursery rhyme to one of the most mystifying crimes ever. The nature of the deaths of Andrew J. Borden and his wife, Abby, are trumped only by the identity of the alleged perpetrator: their daughter Lizzie. Inexplicably found "not guilty" in contrast to the era's more usual swift justice, Lizzie's legacy was to be immortalized as one of the most perplexing cases of parricide in history. (credit:WikiMedia: Wikilug)
"Texas Mother Charged with Killing Her 5 Children" ― CNN(03 of10)
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In a case of mother-gone-mad that startled a nation, Andrea Yates appeared to her few friends and family to be a recluse suffering from postpartum depression leading up to the birth of her fifth child. That all changed on June 20, 2001, when she drowned five of her children in their home's bathtub. She was convicted in 2002 of capital murder, carrying a sentence of life in prison with possible parole. In a 2006 retrial, however, a Texas jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. She was committed to a mental health facility. (credit:Getty Images)
"Buttafuoco Admits to Sex with Amy Fisher" ― New York Times(04 of10)
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Known as the "Long Island Lolita," Amy Fisher became involved with Joey Buttafuoco in May 1991. Shortly after the two began a sexual relationship (she was 16, while he was 35 and married with two children), his presence and influence in her life became all she cared for. Although he's since denied this, Buttafuoco would go on to help Fisher plan the murder of his wife, culminating in Fisher putting a bullet in Mary Jo Buttafuoco's head, but failing to kill her. In the highly publicized trial that ensued, Fisher accepted a plea deal for 15 years in prison in exchange for a testimony against Joey, who served out charges of statutory rape. (credit:Getty Images)
"Murder of a Little Beauty" ― People Magazine(05 of10)
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With her face gracing the covers of nearly every news and gossip rag during the winter of 1996, it's hard to suggest that the death of child beauty pageant queen JonBenét Ramsey had little effect outside the city of Boulder, Colorado. She was found dead from a blow to the head and strangulation in the family's basement. There was a ransom note left on the staircase asking for $118,000 (conveniently or coincidentally, nearly the same amount Mr. Ramsey received as a bonus that year) and no obvious signs of forced entry into the house. The evidence appeared to be stacked against parents John and Patsy, who maintained their innocence throughout the investigation. The case reopened in 2010, but critics cite poor handling of the crime scene as why the mystery of the events of that Christmas day continues. (credit:wikipedia.org)
"F.B.I. Joins Probe in Slaughter of 8 Nurses" ― Nashua Telegraph(06 of10)
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Tattooed with "Born to Raise Hell" on his arm, Richard Speck made good on his mantra through a history of violence, theft, alcoholism and spousal abuse. He achieved infamy when, on July 13, 1966, he walked into a dormitory armed with a knife and left eight student nurses dead in his wake. Only one, Cora Amurao, was spared, hiding under a bed until 6 a.m. Speck was found guilty of murder and died of a heart attack in prison. As one of the most press-worthy crimes of the decade, the grim events were used as the backdrop for an episode of "Mad Men." (credit:thesmokinggun.com)
"Sharon Tate, Four Others Murdered" ― Los Angeles Times(07 of10)
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Perhaps the most terrifying figure in American crime to have never actually killed anyone himself, Charles Manson founded a "family" of wayward individuals who hailed him as a prophet. So strong was his manipulation that on the night of Aug. 8, 1969, he ordered four of his followers to kill everyone at the residence of 10050 Cielo Drive ― including movie director Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, and her unborn child. Tate was stabbed 16 times, and her blood was used to write "pig" on the house's front door. The next night, Manson accompanied six of his family to the residence of supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, helping to bind them before ordering their deaths. In 1971, Manson and three of his fellow defendants were found guilty of murder in the first degree and several other crimes. At the time, it was the longest murder trial in American history, spanning nine and a half months, as well as the most expensive, estimating $1 million. Manson died in prison in 2017 at age 83. (credit:AP Images)
"Lindbergh Baby Kidnapped from Home of Parents on Farm Near Princeton; Taken from His Crib; Wide Search on" ― The New York Times(08 of10)
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Used as the basis for an Agatha Christie novel (Murder on the Orient Express) and dubbed "the biggest story since the Resurrection" by famed journalist H.L. Mencken, the kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindbergh's infant son continues to fascinate theorists today. Charles Jr. was discovered missing from his second-floor bedroom on March 1, 1932, along with a note demanding a then-unimaginable $50,000, igniting a media frenzy like no other. The tabloid pandemonium prompted many tips and leads, but none as concrete as a package containing the boy's pajamas and another message demanding the ransom. After some misdirection from the presumed kidnapper, Lindbergh's child was discovered in the woods along a road near the family residence. Notwithstanding the evidence stockpiled against the easily vilified illegal German immigrant Bruno Hauptmann (who was sentenced to death), speculation prevails as to the true identity of the individual responsible for this tragic tale. (credit:Getty Images)
"Not Guilty as Sin" ― New York Post(09 of10)
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Still fresh in the minds of many and not to be easily forgotten, the trial of Casey Anthony turned Orlando, Florida, into anything but the "happiest place on earth." Following a series of lies, misdirection and manipulation by then-22-year-old Casey, her daughter Caylee's skeletal remains were found five months into the investigation, setting the stage for what could only be described as the most incessantly publicized and shocking trial in recent memory. The media had a field day that went on for months, highlighting the young, pretty party-girl image used against Casey Anthony in court as the prosecution tore apart an aimless defense ― or so it seemed. After throwing her own family under the bus, incriminating people entirely made-up ("Zanny the Nanny"), and fabricating elaborate stories for the police, Anthony was found not guilty of murder due to evidence deemed mostly circumstantial and not meeting the burden of "beyond reasonable doubt," inciting much debate regarding whether true justice was served. (credit:Associated Press)
"An American Tragedy" ― Time(10 of10)
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It was heralded as the "trial of the century." Former football star and actor O.J. Simpson found himself in the middle of the nation's biggest, most-televised trial following the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but not before fleeing an all-points bulletin in his Ford Bronco with 20 units in tow, interrupting game 5 of the NBA Finals. With a dream legal team including Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, and Robert Kardashian, the defense claimed Simpson was merely a victim of police fraud with regard to contaminated DNA evidence. Cochran famously quipped, "If it [the glove] doesn't fit, you must acquit." On Oct. 3, 1995, an estimated 100 million people from around the world tuned in to watch the jury hand down a verdict of not guilty, costing an estimated $480 million in lost productivity. The case incited a discussion of race in the judicial system that continues to this day. (credit:Alamy Images)
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