Man accused in sex assaults can blame twin brother, judge rules

An Army officer linked by DNA to a series of sexual assaults will be allowed to blame his twin brother at trial, a Colorado judge ruled. Attorneys for 1st Lt. Aaron Lucas will be permitted to present Lucas' identical twin Brian Frederick Lucas as an alternate suspect in the cases, given their shared DNA, Forth Judicial District Judge David Shakes ruled. Lucas, 32, stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., is scheduled to be tried in January for lewd encounters with 11 adolescent girls, three of whom were sexually assaulted, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported Tuesday. A DNA test also linked him to the abduction of an 8-year-old girl in Colorado Springs and another attack on a girl in Texas in 2009, authorities said. Despite the judge's unusual approval Friday to consider the twin brother as a suspect, Brian Lucas said he has been to Colorado only once in the past decade and did not visit El Paso County, where his brother's trial will take place.