RICHLAND, Wash. -- After seven months behind bars, science has saved Karl Goering Junior from going to prison for a bloody, heinous crime that he did not commit. Goering was arrested in December 2009 and charged with first degree assault with sexual motivation for allegedly beating and attacking a woman at the Villas Apartment complex in South Richland.

But recently, DNA evidence from the Washington State Crime lab found Goering's blood was not found anywhere on the victim or in the victim's apartment. With this new information, Benton County prosecutors felt Goering was no longer the person responsible for the crime and dismissed the assault charges.

"He's not only not guilty, but he is innocent of the crime that he is charged with," said Goering's attorney, Sal Mendoza Jr.

Richland Police told Action News that everything leading up to charges indicated that Goering was the suspect. According to an affidavit from the prosecutor's office, investigators believed they had enough to charge Goering because his he was not able to provide an alibi and several of his stories were refuted or contradicted. Plus, the victim identified Goering via picture and in-person lineup.

"The moral of the story is, we should look at eyewitness identification with skepticism because it is not good evidence," Mendoza continued.

"It's frustrating because we want to make sure we prosecute the right person and It's frustrating because this is a very serious crime and we want to make sure the victim does have justice," Terry Bloor said, Deputy Prosecutor for Benton County.

But the question looms, if Goering didn't do it who did? The answer is simple: the suspect is still on the loose.

It's a shock to folks who live at or near the Villas, who've spent the last seven months thinking the person who attacked their neighbor is behind bars.

"That's got to be a concern for you," Action News said to Villas resident Lauren Jones. "It's a bit unnerving, especially in an area that's relaxed as this is."

Jones is now much more aware of her surroundings since she walks her dog around the area everyday. It's the same story for Betty Johnson and Val Kenny, who work near the Villas and walk along the path through that area everyday.

"We certainly won't walk on our own anymore," Kenny said. "We'll go together."

Action News took those concerns to Richland Police and wanted to know, what's their message to those who thought the culprit was caught?

"We are chasing down every single piece of evidence that's available," Captain Mike Cobb said, with Richland Police. "We're trying to find, to the best of our ability, the person responsible for this this violent crime."

Richland Police claim to be following several leads but wouldn't say much more than that because the case is active and on-going. But since the attack, Cobb said there haven't been any others nearby.

Richland Police also said their department meets every Wednesday to decide where to focus their enforcement efforts, based on reports by their crime analyst. These are called PARstat meetings but Cobb did not specifically say if the numbers showed more patrols were needed in south Richland.

"If he's still out there, there's a chance he could get someone else," Jones said.

While the blood evidence cleared Goering's name, it also holds the key to finding the real attacker.

Action News asked Goering to give a personal statement but he could not since he's still serving time for two unrelated crimes in which he plead guilty, including possessing of a marijuana with intent to deliver and failure to register as a sex offender. Because he served time for those crimes, Goering did not serve any jail time for the assault charge.

At one point in this case, Mendoza said prosecutors offered Goering a plea deal with a 50 year sentence. That would've been 50 years for a crime he did not commit.