BEDFORD, Mass. -- A man who spent more than 19 years in prison for a rape he said he didn't commit may be released Thursday, after DNA evidence proved his innocence.

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Father Anxious For Son's Release

NewsCenter 5's David Boeri reported that Dennis Maher was convicted twice of rape and attempted rape based almost solely on a victim's eyewitness testimony. He was a 23-year-old Green Beret sergeant when he was charged with the crimes.

"They ruined his life," said his father, Donat Maher. "I think that what kept him going was his Green Beret training. That's what kept him really going."

Now 42, Dennis Maher has the DNA evidence to prove he didn't commit the crime. Retired Judge Robert Barton, who presided over both cases, said that he's deeply troubled.

"The appellate courts of Massachusetts said that the fellow got two fair trials, and now to find out, 20 years later, that he's not the fellow is very disconcerting to me," Barton said. "I feel terrible, as anybody would, to be any part of a trial where someone unjustly gave up 20 years of their life."

Barton is also a NewsCenter 5 legal analyst.

Maher's family spent many years hoping he would be exonerated, but they never had a doubt of his innocence.

"They wanted him to admit it, and he probably would have had a chance to go on parole, but we told him, 'No. You didn't do it, so what's the use of admitting something that you'd never done?'" Donat Maher said.

Dennis Maher's case was helped by the Innocence Project, which works to use DNA evidence to prove the innocence of wrongly convicted people.

"It's amazing, incredible, wonderful," said his attorney, Aliza Kaplan. "It's been an unbelievably long haul for Dennis and his family. I've been involved in the case for 2.5 years, and I feel like it's been a really long haul, so I'm just really thrilled for Dennis."

Maher's attorneys will file for a new trial Thursday, and the Middlesex district attorney said that she would not oppose the motion. Prosecutors are expected to drop the charges, setting Maher free.

Maher was also dishonorably discharged from the military when he was convicted, and family members hope to have him honorably discharged.