A 31-year-old man who was on trial for allegations he raped his then-girlfriend in February 2011 had his name cleared Friday by a Comanche County jury.
Austin Nate Lankister, of Valliant, was found not guilty of a felony count of first-degree rape by force or fear at the end of four days of trial.
Lankister was accused of assaulting the woman when she became unconscious in the wooded area off Jake Dunn Road at Lake Ellsworth on Feb. 21, 2011. After the woman underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination was conducted and rape kit collected, the kit’s contents were left unchecked for 12 years before DNA matching returned on Feb. 2, 2022, through the Combined DNA Index System identified Lankister as having relations with the woman. He denied the allegations.
Lankister has been free on $50,000 bond since his initial court appearance June 19, 2023. With the jury’s determination, the bond was exonerated.
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