Source: clickorlando.com 10/31/23 POLK COUNTY, Fla. – Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd faces a lawsuit after a man was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography in 2020, according to court records filed on Tuesday. The lawsuit says that the sheriff’s office had started an investigation dubbed “Operation Guardians of Innocence V” back in October 2019, during which detectives searched for suspects in possession of child pornography. After months of investigation, deputies said that Edgardo Cancela — who lived in Davenport with his wife and two children — had been…
Read MoreTag: false accusations
ME: Registrant falsely accused of mass murder because he has the same name
Source: usatoday.com 10/26/23 The claim: Image shows suspect in Maine shooting, previously arrested for child pornography An Oct. 26 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a photo of a man it claims is the suspect in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead. “Lewiston Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Robert Card Has Been Previously Arrested For Child Pornography & Is A Registered Sex Offender Who CAN NOT LEGALLY POSSESS A FIREARM!” reads part of the post. The post garnered nearly 30 shares and more than 350 comments…
Read MoreUK: Teacher sacked and arrested after girls made up sex claims ‘for fun’ gets payout
Source: msn.com 10/17/23 A male teacher at an all-girls grammar school has been awarded £45,000 after he was sacked over sex assault claims pupils later said had been made up ‘for fun’. Jonathan Hawker, who taught maths and computing, lost his job at Devonport High School for Girls after pupils said he assaulted them by touching their thighs and massaging their shoulders. He endured the ‘brutal experience’ of being arrested at his home before being dismissed from the Plymouth school for gross misconduct. His appeal against the sacking was then…
Read MoreCO: Allegedly murderous stepmom tried to pin stepson’s disappearance on wanted sex offender
Source: lawandcrime.com 4/19/23 An FBI special agent testified on Wednesday that an allegedly murderous stepmother tried to pin her stepson’s disappearance on a wanted sex offender, whose unrelated case was publicized in local news. In truth, however, there was no indication that this man, Quincy ____, had anything to do with victim Gannon Stauch, 11, going missing on Jan. 27, 2020, said FBI Special Agent Amber Cronan. Prosecutors in Colorado Springs, Colorado, point the finger at the child’s stepmother, Letecia Stauch, 39, who they say stabbed Gannon 18 times, shot…
Read MoreRealPage incorrect sex offender data $9.73M class action lawsuit settlement
Source: topclassactions.com 7/28/22 RealPage agreed to pay over $9.73 million to resolve claims that it violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by allowing incorrect sex offender registry data on tenant screening reports. The class action lawsuit settlement benefits individuals who were subject to a RealPage report between June 14, 2017, and March 2, 2021, where the report included a record from a sex offender registry with the record matching the report subject based on the birth date range, but where further review shows a differing birth date. RealPage…
Read MoreNY: Author Alice Sebold apologizes to man cleared in 1981 rape
Source: local10.com 11/30/21 Author Alice Sebold publicly apologized Tuesday to the man who was exonerated last week in the 1981 rape that was the basis for her memoir “Lucky” and said she was struggling with the role she played “within a system that sent an innocent man to jail.” Anthony Broadwater, 61, was convicted in 1982 of raping Sebold when she was a student at Syracuse University. He served 16 years in prison. His conviction was overturned Nov. 22 after prosecutors reexamined the case and determined there were serious flaws…
Read MoreMan Imprisoned for 16 Years for Raping Lovely Bones Author Is Exonerated
Source: Emily Horowitz – reason.com – 11/29/21 Anthony Broadwater, now 61, had no idea his accuser achieved fame and fortune while he has been living as a pariah for over 20 years on the sex offender registry. Alice Sebold’s bestselling 1999 memoir Lucky tells the story of a young woman raped by a stranger while attending Syracuse University. In the book, the rapist is caught and convicted. After writing about the experience, Sebold went on to write the bestseller The Lovely Bones, a fictional account of a teenage girl raped…
Read MoreNH: Federal Bureau Of Prisons’ Misclassification Of Inmate Leads To Compassionate Release
Source: forbes.com 8/17/21 Joshua Fields (District of New Hampshire, Case No. 14-cr-074-LM) had a troubled life. His substance abuse which started at age 9 was nothing more than a path to mental health issues and brushes with the criminal justice system. After pleading guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a weapon, and mounting up a few prior criminal offenses, Fields pled guilty and was sentenced to 180 months in prison (later reduced to 120 months under a revised law). When he was sentenced in 2014, it…
Read MoreMD: Who is Meredith Martin? Ex-teacher acquitted of sex abuse after student lied
Source: meaww.com 6/15/21 ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND: A former Arundel County, Maryland, high school teacher, has been acquitted of charges of having sex with a student after it was found that the victim who made the allegations lied years ago while under oath in court. Meredith Susan Barry Martin, 39, who was also a former biology teacher at South River High School, was found not guilty of five counts of having intercourse while in a position of authority, one count of unnatural or perverted practice, and sex abuse of a minor. She was also found…
Read MoreNY: Town of Rotterdam, police department face lawsuit over arrest
[dailygazette.com – 3/31/21] A man who was falsely arrested by the Rotterdam Police Department for improperly submitting a photo for the sex offender registry list is now suing the department and the town over the four days he spent in jail. William Harwood filed paperwork March 25 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York seeking a jury trial and damages after he said he suffered emotional distress from the incident. Harwood, who is representing himself, said in court documents that in 2018 he was required to provide…
Read MoreDion Harrell, an innocent Long Branch man who was sent to prison, dies at 53
[app.com – 1/23/21] Dion Harrell, who spent 28 years trying to prove he was an innocent man after a 1992 conviction for rape, has died at the age of 53. “We are saddened to share that our client Dion Harrell, 53, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 15 in Long Branch,” the Innocence Project announced on its website. The cause of death was not released. “Mr. Harrell was a proud father of two daughters and grandfather to three grandchildren whom he adored,” the statement said. “Mr. Harrell was wrongly incarcerated for four…
Read MoreMI: Michigan’s top court kills lawsuit by wrongly imprisoned man
[washingtontimes.com – 7/30/20] DETROIT (AP) – The Michigan Supreme Court has stopped a man from suing the state after he spent more than a year in prison for a crime that wasn’t a crime. The man was behind bars for 17 months for failing to provide accurate information for Michigan’s sex offender registry. The Corrections Department then discovered that he actually wasn’t required to register. The man sued the state, arguing that his constitutional rights were violated. The Supreme Court heard arguments in April but dropped the case in a…
Read MoreMO: The man who has to register as a sex offender based on lies
[womenagainstregistry.org – 2/20/20] ST. LOUIS – He’s the sex offender who’s innocent. According to the reported victims, _____ didn’t do it. Tuesday’s interview with _____ is part of Fox 2’s ongoing investigation into why the Missouri justice system isn’t listening. “I’ve been fighting this for 31 years of my life and it has caused me something new, every time I turn around,” _____ said. “The neighbors looking at me wrong, not being able to go to a state park. Just recently I found my passports got pulled because of a…
Read MoreCA: DA drops serial rape charges against reality TV doctor and girlfriend, saying case was ‘manufactured’
[washingtonpost.com – 2/5/20] California prosecutors are dropping all charges against an Orange County surgeon and his girlfriend after concluding that the previous district attorney “manufactured” the high-profile 2018 case in which the couple was accused of serially drugging and raping women. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release Tuesday that after his office reviewed the case, investigators found “no provable evidence” to support the charges against ____ a 39-year-old orthopedic surgeon and former reality TV star, and his girlfriend _____, a 33-year-old dance instructor. The decision…
Read MoreNY: DNA evidence exonerates New York City man for 1985 sex assault
[abcnews.go.com – 1/28/20] After spending a full 25-year sentence in prison for a crime he did not commit, a Bronx, New York, man was exonerated by the first prosecutorial conviction review unit on the East Coast. Rafael Ruiz was convicted in 1985 for sexually assaulting a girl in East Harlem. Ruiz, then 25, was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison and was released on parole in 2009 after serving the entire stint. Now, at the age of 60, Ruiz had his felony conviction wiped off his criminal…
Read MoreNJ: Police Warn Residents Against Fake Sex Offender Notice
[jerseyshoreonline.com – 1/9/20] Howell Police are warning residents of a letter that is making the rounds falsely claiming to be a Megan’s Law notification naming a Howell resident/ business owner. Police shared a community awareness post to their Facebook page emphasizing that the letter is a fake. “The person named is this letter is NOT subject to any type of investigation, prosecution or conviction of any offense related to Megan’s Law. At first this letter may seem real however upon examination it is poorly written and constructed,” stated police. The…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Another Case Against Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey is back in the news. Awhile back I wrote about sexual abuse allegations against him being dropped, he had been accused of groping a busboy at a Nantucket restaurant in 2016. The ensuing civil suit and criminal charges were dropped after the accuser pleaded the 5th Amendment during an evidentiary hearing. It was found that the accuser’s mother had altered text messages on his phone prior to the phone being turned over to police. Now, Spacey is back in the news after an anonymous massage therapist who had…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: The Truth Lies Somewhere in the Middle
On Wednesday, Massachusetts criminal prosecutors dropped their case against actor Kevin Spacey. Spacey had faced a criminal charge of indecent assault and battery in connection with a reported July 2016 incident at the Club Car restaurant/bar in Nantucket. His accuser, an 18 yr. old busboy at the restaurant, had accused Spacey of groping him. The accuser’s mother, a former TV anchor, filed the complaint more than a year after the alleged incident supposedly occurred. Spacey pled “not guilty” and faced up to five years in prison if convicted. The alleged…
Read More