York County man sentenced to life in prison for 1978 rape

WILLIAMSBURG A York man identified through analysis of DNA evidence in the 1978 rape of a William and Mary coed was swiftly convicted Thursday by a jury, which recommended he be sentenced to life in prison.

After hearing two days worth of testimony and argument, the jury of six men and six women found 58-year-old James Moses Glass, Jr. guilty on charges of rape, abduction with intent to defile and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Deliberation lasted one hour. Less than an hour after returning the verdicts, the jury recommended a combined sentence of life in prison plus 42 years.

Commonwealths attorney Nate Green said following the sentencing phase of the trial that he thought science carried the day.

Today justice delayed did not mean justice denied for Mr. Glass or the atrocious act he committed against the victim, Green said. That being said, nothing that happened in the last two days will ever remove the stain of Mr. (Bennett) Barbours conviction.

Nearly 40 years ago, Barbour was convicted of raping the woman at Parkway Apartments on Merrimac Trail and served four and a half years in prison. DNA evidence found taped inside a case file and later tested as part of a post-conviction DNA project led to his exoneration in 2012 and pointed to Glass.

Two experts in forensic science and DNA analysis, one for the prosecution and another for the defense, testified analysis of that evidence yielded a partial DNA profile that was consistent with Glass DNA makeup.

Defense attorney Ashton Wray argued at closing that had the DNA profile been complete the evidence might have pointed to someone other than Glass, referencing testimony of forensic biologist Arthur W. Young. Young told the court that without a complete DNA profile he believed the results of the analysis to be inconclusive because pieces of the DNA sequence known as alleles were missing, adding that having those missing pieces to fill out the sequence would increase his certainty.

Shelley Edler, a forensic scientist with the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, testified she reviewed the analysis and found the probability of finding another individual with a matching DNA profile to. be one in greater that the worlds population. She said the probability was capped at the world population for ease of understanding, but told the court the actual probability was one in more than a quadrillion.

Does one in a quadrillion equal highly likely? Green asked the jury in his closing argument. Or does one in a quadrillion equal beyond a reasonable doubt?

On Feb. 7, 1978, the womans class at the College of William and Mary was canceled, so she went to her apartment to gather her laundry then head to the laundromat, according to her testimony. She said after completing the task she stopped by her boyfriends home at Parkway Apartments on Merrimac Trail to pick up a few things, staying only a few minutes.

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York County man sentenced to life in prison for 1978 rape