No DNA evidence against rape suspect

SALEM – A DNA analyst testifying this morning in the trial of a Lynn man accused of participating in the gang rape of a teenage girl in Lynn said the man “could not have been the source of male DNA” found on the victim’s underwear and body during a hospital examination.The analyst told Assistant District Attorney Greg Friedholm that evidence presented to the lab by Lynn Police in March 2008 tested positive for the DNA of three other men involved in the rape, including two that have already been convicted, but not 22-year-old Rafael Nina Brito.The victim testified Monday that Brito raped her using his fingers.Both sides rested shortly before lunch after defense attorney William Martin called to the stand a medical expert to give his opinion on the victim’s medical records, as well as two reputation witnesses, who portrayed Brito as a “peaceful, tranquil and joyful” man who spends time helping his niece with her school work.After a short recess, Brito elected not to testify on his own behalf.Brito, who currently lives in Lynn, is charged with aggravated rape after allegedly participating in the gang-rape of a then-17-year-old Salem girl on Feb. 15, 2008, when he and three other men were supposed to be giving her a ride home from a friend?s house in Lynn. Instead, they took her to Brito’s mother’s Summer Street apartment, where they took turns raping her, according to Friedholm.Closing arguments are scheduled to take place Thursday at 9:30 a.m.