Ex-con rape suspect Jeffrey Vigiard to go on trial in September

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - An Adams man police say raped a woman just hours after his release from jail is tentatively scheduled to go on trial in September.

The trial's start is dependent on DNA testing. Prosecutors say Jeffrey Vigiard was connected to the crime through DNA, but in court Thursday said further testing is necessary.

Authorities say the 39-year-old Vigiard broke into the 20-year-old woman's home in Pittsfield last March just hours after his release from a New York jail where he had served time for larceny.

Police say Vigiard fled to San Francisco, where he was caught in July,

Vigiard has pleaded not guilty to aggravated rape, witness intimidation, burglary, assault, and breaking and entering. The Berkshire Eagle reports that his lawyer calls the pattern in the case "strange."

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Information from: The Berkshire (Mass.) Eagle, http://www.berkshireeagle.com