WINFIELD — A judge will allow new DNA testing that could exonerate a Hurricane man who’s spent more than 15 years in prison after being convicted of raping his 5-year-old daughter.
Putnam Circuit Judge Joseph Reeder denied a request Wednesday made by Joseph Lavigne Jr. for a new trial, but granted his request to allow testing of various evidence that has either never been DNA tested before or hasn’t been tested with current methods. Lavigne is serving a jail sentence of 22 to 60 years.