Man charged with 1987 rape seeks dismissal of charges

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - The attorney for a man charged with raping an 8-year-old Billings girl in 1987 has filed a motion to dismiss the charge.

The motion argues the statute of limitations for the rape charge expired before a 2007 law was passed allowing for sex crimes to be charged for up to one year after a DNA match is made.

Ronald Dwight Tipton is charged with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Billings Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2oelvgX) that DNA evidence linked Tipton to the case in 2014, after he agreed to submit to DNA testing as part of his suspended sentence in a drug case.

Another man was convicted of the rape and spent 15 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2002.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, https://www.billingsgazette.com