Man Convicted on DNA Evidence Gets 49 Years
A 34-year-old Los Angeles man who last month became the first person in Los Angeles County to be convicted in a criminal case built on DNA evidence was sentenced Friday in Van Nuys Superior Court to 49 years in prison for sexually assaulting two women.
Judge James A. Coleman imposed the sentence on Henry Wilds, saying that he had exhibited a high degree of “cruelty, viciousness and callousness.” In March, after a trial that featured two months of scientific testimony, a jury convicted Wilds of 10 counts of rape, robbery, forcible oral copulation and burglary.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, found in all human cells, can be translated into patterns that resemble supermarket bar codes. In genetic fingerprinting, DNA samples from a crime scene can be compared to DNA samples taken from a suspect’s blood.
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