DNA Clears Rape Suspect

Innocent man spent three weeks in jail after an 11-year-old girl identified him as the man who attacked her on a visit to a South Philadelphia home.

Elonzer Perkins had never been in jail before.

He found out it’s no fun.

“Being in jail is no joke,” he said yesterday. “They don’t treat you right.”

Perkins got just enough of a taste of confinement to be upset and angry that he was charged with a crime he did not commit – and a particularly heinous crime at that.

He was accused of raping an 11-year-old girl.

Cleared by DNA evidence, he is now trying to put his life back together.

Perkins, 40, father of three and grandfather of one, was arrested on Jan. 26 and released Friday. He was not able to make the $50,000 bail.

He wonders if he still has his job with the Philadelphia Housing Authority, since he has not been to work since his arrest. He has been with the agency for 12 years.

“I haven’t been to work for three weeks,” he said during an interview in the office of his lawyer, Michael J. Diamondstein.

Being in jail was eye-opening in more ways than one.

“I think there’re a lot of people in jail who are not supposed to be there,” he said.

He also said he is “frustrated and angry.”

“Yes, I’m angry,” he said, “because I didn’t do anything. I have no record.”

Clearing Perkins leaves police with an open investigation. Someone raped the girl on Dec. 16 when she was spending a night with a South Philadelphia family to see if she was compatible as a foster child.

While in a bedroom of the Hirst Street home, someone walked in and raped her.

The girl later picked out Perkins’ photo as her attacker. He had attended a party at the house.

Last week, DNA evidence conclusively showed that Perkins was not the rapist.

When Assistant District Attorney Kelley Marie Dreyer-Spitz received the DNA report, she wasted no time.

While Perkins was behind bars, she and Diamondstein appeared before Common Pleas Judge Paul P. Panepinto to reveal the findings.

Dreyer-Spitz then dropped a series of charges against Perkins, including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Diamondstein praised Dreyer-Spitz for her efforts in the case.

The prosecutor suspected a problem, and had delayed a scheduled preliminary hearing for Perkins to await the outcome of the test results.

“If it wasn’t for her, my client could have spent an inordinate amount of time in prison,” said Diamondstein.

“When you think about these types of offenses, it’s just chilling,” he said.

Perkins, of Glenwood Avenue near 15th Street, could have been sentenced to 30 to 60 years in jail if convicted.

“Without the aid of science, he could have easily been convicted of the word of this girl,” Diamondstein said. “Someone else raped her.

“The girl has gone through a tremendous tragedy. I just hope that whoever is now taking care of her can straighten this out, take her to a safe place and get her help,” the lawyer said.

“Meanwhile, we hope that police find the real person who committed this terrible act.”

Yesterday, Diamondstein said there are no winners in the case.

“I don’t think Elonzer feels like he’s a winner,” the lawyer said.

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