ST. LOUIS DNA evidence that proved the innocence of a man imprisoned for 17 years in two rapes in 1985 led to the conviction Wednesday of Johnnie Moore, who had a record of other sex crimes.

A St. Louis Circuit Court jury deliberated for only one hour including time for lunch before finding Moore, 55, guilty of two counts each of forcible rape and sodomy for separate attacks on girls 14 and 16.

Sentencing is set for Aug. 31. He could face prison terms of up to life without parole.

Both girls were accosted on the street and forced into secluded locations where they were attacked at knifepoint. The first was at Norwood and Maffit avenues on July 26, 1985, and the second at Lillian and Davidson avenues on Oct. 1, 1985.

Moore, of St. Louis, claimed on the witness stand Wednesday that sex with both was consensual. He alleged that the 14-year-old only called it rape because she was angry when he stopped after she revealed her young age.

But Assistant Circuit Attorney Christine Krug advised jurors not even to consider such a claim. Were it true, Krug noted, it would not have taken police 27 years to track down Moore, because the angry teen would have pointed to him from the start.

Instead, both teens initially identified the wrong man, Lonnie Erby, who spent 17 years in prison for those rapes and another until he was exonerated in 2003 by the same science that linked Moore to the crimes.

Moore was indicted in December 2010 after the victims were located and the match was confirmed.

Justice delayed? Yes, Krug said. Justice denied? No.

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DNA that freed one man in 1985 St. Louis rapes convicts another