Bartow , Florida ( CNN ) -- After more than three decades in prison , a Florida man was set free Thursday after a DNA test showed he did not kidnap and rape a 9-year-old boy in 1974 . `` I 'm not angry , '' James Bain , 54 , told reporters after a brief hearing in Bartow , Florida . Bain was 19 when he was convicted on charges of kidnapping , burglary and strong-arm rape . He received a life sentence . He 's going home for the first time in 35 years . `` I got God in my head , '' said Bain , surrounded by supporters and wearing a T-shirt with `` Not Guilty '' across the front . `` I knew one day he will reveal me . '' Of the 245 people in the United States whom DNA testing has exonerated , none has spent more time behind bars than Bain , according to the Innocence Project , a national organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through such testing . In 2001 , Florida passed a statute allowing cases to be reopened for DNA testing . Bain submitted handwritten motions four times seeking such testing but was denied each time . His fifth attempt was successful after an appeals court ruled he was entitled to a hearing . Bain initially was expected to be freed with some conditions as the state wanted a further review of DNA test results . But the review was completed ahead of Thursday 's hearing . Polk County State Attorney Jerry Hill told the judge that DNA testing had excluded Bain from the crime . `` He 's just not connected with this particular incident , '' Hill said . `` Mr. Bain , I 'm now signing the order , sir , '' the judge said , referring to an order vacating the judgment and sentence . `` You are a free man . Congratulations , '' he said , and the courtroom erupted into applause . In 1974 , the 9-year-old Lake Wales , Florida , victim had told police that his attacker had bushy sideburns and a mustache . After being shown five photos of potential suspects , the victim picked out one of Bain , the police report said . The victim , now 44 , lives in Florida and was made aware of Bain 's situation , according to multiple sources . Speaking to reporters Thursday , Bain said he was going home with family . `` I 'm going to see my mom , '' he said . His mother , Sarah Reed , has been in and out of hospitals in recent years . She said she is putting her house and her car in her son 's name . `` I want him to have something by himself . He 's suffered enough , '' she said . Asked about prison , Bain said , `` So many things can happen to you at any time . '' But now , `` I guess I kind of feel like when they first landed on the moon . We have touchdown , '' he said , laughing . CNN 's Rich Phillips contributed to this report .
` ` You are a free man . Congratulations , '' judge James Patrick Bain . Previously imprisoned for 35 years in abduction and rape of a 9-year - old teenage boy . DNA testing cleared Bain from crime , police say . His case was reopened after his fifth request to use DNA evidence .