Exoneration of the Day - Man Falsely Charged with Sexually Assaulting Co-Worker

A Minnesota man was falsely charged with sexually assaulting his female co-worker at a residential facility where they were both employed. The “victim” claimed the man pinned her down and removed her clothes and penetrated her.

The man testified these were false charges but was still convicted by a jury of third-degree assault and sentenced to prison for 4 years. The male co-worker then retained a new attorney who realized the male’s previous attorney had not done a thorough job presenting evidence that would have been favorable to his case.

A new trial was granted and the attorney presented witnesses who testified that the accuser was spending the night in the residential facility with her supervisor which was against the rules and the accused male co-worker reported these violations. Witnesses also reported seeing the accuser and accused getting along fine together the day after the supposed incident took place including the female and male both entering the basement alone together without incident. The lawyer correctly pointed out this was a retaliatory allegation for male co-worker reporting the violations between the accuser and her boss.

A jury acquitted the accused male of the crime.

For more information about this case visit:

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4391