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DNA clears suspect in rape case Attack remains high priority for Ashland police By JESSICA SMITH Talent man's DNA does not match a sample that was found on an Ashland rape victim's clothing, leading authorities to drop the charges pending against him. James Jeffrey Neill, 47, was released from police custody Tuesday, more than a month after he was arrested and lodged in the Jackson County Jail. County officials learned Monday that DNA testing performed by the Oregon State Police forensics lab in Portland cleared Neill as a suspect in the Nov. 3 rape. "There was some strong evidence that this was the right person," said county District Attorney Mark Huddleston. "However, the DNA evidence is conclusive: This is not the right person." Ashland police arrested Neill Nov. 7, three days after a man wielding a knife raped a 22-year-old woman who had been walking alone on Gresham Street. Neill was charged with first-degree rape, second-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of first-degree unlawful sexual penetration with a foreign object. He was indicted on those charges Nov. 15, and he entered a not guilty plea two days later. "All along I've maintained my innocence ... always," said Neill, who was reached at his home Wednesday afternoon. "Never was there a doubt to my emphatic claim of my innocence." Neill said he was "appreciative" that the DNA evidence cleared him, but he declined to comment further on the case that was made against him. He also declined to say whether he plans to pursue legal action against the district attorney's office or the Ashland police. "I suppose he could consider filing a civil lawsuit," Huddleston said, adding that such action would involve determining whether police had probable cause to arrest Neill. "It's clear to me that they did, based on the evidence," Huddleston added. The victim apparently identified Neill as her attacker in a photo line-up. A search of Neill's home unearthed clothing similar to that worn by the attacker, and authorities said comments Neill made Nov. 4 to a teenager at the Ashland Plaza also implicated him in the rape. Menacing and harassment charges are still pending against Neill in the Nov. 4 incident. Neill has pleaded not guilty in that case, which is scheduled for trial Jan. 26. Meanwhile, the Ashland rape case remains open and a top priority for police, Capt. Lisa Brooks said. "At this point, we're going back to step one," she said. Police are searching for a man who is described as stocky, between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, with short, dark hair, a moustache and short beard. Brooks said the fact police arrested Neill did not mean investigators stopped working on the case. "We weren't sitting back thinking our job was finished," she said. "I'm sure if we had any other viable leads we would have followed them up." Brooks added that police are confident they have preserved enough evidence in the month-old case to pick up the pace of the investigation. Brooks said police do not believe the attacker is the same man who sexually assaulted two Ashland women about a week after the rape. Anyone with information about the assaults is asked to call the Ashland police at 482-5211 or the TIPS hot line at 552-2125. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA