Alexander Andrew Kelly (born May 8 1967) is an Irish-American from Darien, Connecticut, who was convicted of rape in 1997.
Crimes The two rapes involved took place in Darien, Connecticut in 1986. Before his trial was due to begin in 1987, Kelly fled the United States and spent the next seven years on the run, mostly in Europe. He reportedly took citizenship of the Republic of Ireland. Kelly's parents allegedly financed him during this seven-year period, though they were probably frequently unaware of his exact location. Law-enforcement authorities suspected this was the case and on at least one occasion raided their house trying to find evidence of Kelly's location or their assistance to him. No legal action was taken against them however. They had three sons and Alex was the middle son. The oldest son died while Kelly was on the run in Europe so Kelly missed his funeral.
In 1995, he surrendered to authorities in Switzerland and was extradited back to the United States to stand trial on rape and kidnapping charges, though several lesser counts were excluded as they were not specifically listed in the extradition treaty between the two nations.
He faced two trials in 1997, as the first was declared a . The second, however, resulted in his conviction for the first rape and a sentence of 16 years in jail. He pleaded no contest to the second rape charge. Kelly is presently incarcerated in Connecticut.
Keely appeared before a parole board in 2005, after having served eight years of his 16-year sentence; his bid for release was rejected. He will be eligible for release under Connecticut's "good behavior" policy in 2008.
Portrayals in the media Kelly's story has been told in an episode of Dominick Dunne's Court TV series Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice and also by the 1999 television movie Crime in Connecticut: The Story of Alex Kelly. It also featured in an episode of A&E Network's series American Justice.