Hearing in New Bedford Today for Man Convicted of Rape in 1985

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) _ A man who spent three decades in prison based in part on a single strand of hair will ask a judge to free him on bail while he awaits a new trial.

A bail hearing is scheduled for George Perrot in New Bedford Superior Court Wednesday.

Perrot was convicted of raping a 78-year-old woman in 1985. Last month, a judge granted Perrot a new trial after finding fault with an FBI agent's testimony that a hair found in the woman's home matched Perrot.

The U.S. Department of Justice flagged Perrot's case in 2014 as one of hundreds that involved erroneous statements from FBI agents about hair analysis. Microscopic hair analysis has since been found to be far from precise.

Perrot was arrested at 17. He has denied raping the woman.