( CNN ) -- Houston prosecutors will ask a court Thursday to formally exonerate a Texas man after DNA tests ruled out his guilt in a rape for which he served 17 years in prison . George Rodriguez was freed in 2004 after an appeals court found that faulty scientific evidence had been used against him in his 1987 trial . Prosecutors did n't retry him , citing concerns about having the victim -- who had identified Rodriguez as one of her two attackers in a police lineup -- testify again . State officials had denied his request for a pardon , but Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos agreed to review his case after she took office in 2009 . New DNA tests on the forensic evidence in the case came back February 22 and conclusively ruled out Rodriguez , now 50 , Lykos said in a statement Wednesday afternoon . `` When this scientific inquiry began , there was no legal requirement or mandate for any further work to be done by our office , because the case had been dismissed , '' Lykos said . `` Instead , we acted on the most important obligation of all -- to see that the truth emerges , and that justice is done . Today , we can state that an innocent man has been vindicated . '' The Harris County District Attorney 's office will ask a judge to formally declare Rodriguez innocent at a Thursday hearing , she said . Lykos , a Republican , campaigned on promises to reform the prosecutor 's office in Texas ' largest city , and she has drawn praise from defense lawyers for creating a post-conviction review process to examine new evidence . The Innocence Project , which won Rodriguez 's release in 2004 , gave her an award in 2010 for that program . Another man , Manuel Beltran , is now serving a 60-year prison term in connection for rape . The DNA testing also confirmed that another man , now dead but long considered an alternative suspect , also assaulted the victim , who was 14 at the time .
George Rodriguez was arrested in 1989 but never formally charged . Prosecutors say DNA tests rule out his involvement in the 1987 rape .