Man Falsely Accused Of Raping A Woman, When He Actually Saved Her, Freed From Prison After 19 Years

This man was accused of raping a woman when he actually saved her from a different man

19-years ago, Joseph Hicks saved a woman from being raped by some other man. Instead of being appreciated, he was wrongly accused of raping her by two police officers. He was also accused of shooting at the cops.

Hicks was only 26 at that time and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His attorneys claim that not only cops made up the story of him shooting at them but also planted a gun on him that belonged to another officer.

Credit: Jason E. Miczek

As soon as Hicks heard a woman screaming, he ran to help her

It all started when Hicks heard a woman screaming near the St. Agnes Hospital in South Philadelphia on Nov. 27, 2001. 

The woman worked at the nearby Dunkin' Donuts. On the day of the incident, she was walking towards her destination. It was early in the morning when she was pistol-whipped and dragged into an alley by a man who raped her. 

Hicks, who is now 45, ran to the alley to help her. He was working at the time as a Popeye's assistant manager. 

Credit: Jason E. Miczek

Hicks arrived at the scene when the rapist had already run away

The rapist ran away when headlights from a delivery van nearby lighted that dark alley and unfortunately that was the time when Hicks arrived. The two officers Marvin Vinson and Dennis Zungolo arrived soon after and thought he was the rapist and shot at him. 

The poor man was sentenced to jail for 25 years on the accounts of rape, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime, and terroristic threats.

CIU chief said 'false testimony' was to blame for it

The woman was brought to the trial but she could not identify her attacker and had suffered a head injury. Though Hicks was eligible for parole in 2015, it was denied because he continued to assert his innocence. 

His case was reviewed again this week and finally, his conviction was overturned by the Conviction Integrity Unit in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.

'False testimony was used, and I believe it’s impossible to say that did not contribute to the conviction,' CIU chief Patricia Cummings said.  

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Hicks' attorneys claimed that he never shot at the cops and that all this was made up

Hicks was finally proven innocent as the cops' story was inconsistent with Hicks' injuries - he was shot in the back.  One more reason was that there was no reliable security footage to determine exactly what happened. 

The gun planted on Hicks was in fact registered to another Philadelphia cop who'd never reported it missing.

His lawyers told there was blood from the woman found on the gun but not on the interior of Hicks' jacket, where the cops say he pulled it from, which proves they were lying. 

There was no gray hoodie among Hicks clothes after he was arrested

The cops also stated that Hicks wore a gray hoodie, like one that the attacker was seen wearing, even though a hoodie was not among Hicks' clothes following his arrest.

The poor man got out of jail on Wednesday after losing almost two decades and his youth. There is no information on whether he now plans to sue the police department or not.

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On the other side, both of the police officers are still working, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

After getting out of the prison, Hicks said: 'I feel 100 pounds lighter. 

'It’s unfortunate and sad that it took how long it took for me to clear my name. I’ve been saying the same thing since day one... 

'The things that are promised to citizens should be delivered: a fair trial, and a fair look at what’s being presented. '