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Teen released early by state
Stafford County teen whose victim recanted her rape allegations gets early release from custody
Date published: 3/4/2009
By PAMELA GOULD A former Aquia Harbour teen whose alleged rape victim recanted has been released ahead of schedule by the state Department of Juvenile Justice. The boy, who is now 17, was released one week ago from a facility in Hanover County after spending 17 months in custody. The Department of Juvenile Justice had classified him as a "major offender" and given him a sentence ranging from 18 to 36 months. Yesterday, the mother of the girl who recanted her allegation, called the early release "a first step" in rectifying the situation. "I was relieved but I still feel bad because it's not the end of the road for him," said Michele Sousa. The Free Lance-Star is not naming the teens because of the nature of the charges. Their parents have different surnames. The boy's parents contacted Deirdre Enright, director of the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia Law School, late last year after appeals by two previous attorneys failed to get the case overturned. On Jan. 22, Enright and Andrew K. Block Jr., legal director of JustChildren, a child advocacy program of the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville, sent a letter to Juvenile Justice Director Barry Green laying out their investigation into the case and their grounds for a claim of wrongful conviction. They asked Green to exercise his authority to release the teen, which he did. The attorneys are also seeking to get the teen's convictions erased and his name removed from the state's sex offender registry. Green's decision to release the teen does not impact those issues. In a separate matter, Stafford Juvenile Court Judge Julian W. Johnson issued a ruling late Friday giving prosecutor Eric Olsen permission to review records related to the boy's case and comment publicly on their contents. The ruling does not go into effect for 10 days from its release and does not open the records to public inspection. Olsen made the request after a Feb. 5 report in The Free Lance-Star in which the boy's attorneys alleged he had been wrongfully convicted. Olsen could not be reached for comment yesterday, but said in his motion he wanted to correct what he considered "inaccurate and incomplete information." Block declined yesterday to comment on the ruling.
Date published: 3/4/2009
The more important question
(posted by
TPKeller
, Mar. 4, 2009 9:42 pm)
to be asking is why, despite the revelation of the false accusation that allowed this case to exist, two different attorneys could not get the situation corrected in court? Why did it take the extensive scrutiny and publicity of the Innocence Project before action was taken? We should demand a legal system that works right on its own, not one that only works when it is exposed to the spotlight of intense public scrutiny.
Kimberlina is correct
(posted by
MarkS
, Mar. 4, 2009 1:13 pm)
If I remember, they both suffer from a severe mental problems and are not capable of thinking at the level their ages suggest. It was initially reported that the girl was afraid she would be punished and said he broke in, which means that the only way they could have had sex was via rape. I feel like this whole case was rushed through the system without actually looking at the circumstances and facts accurately.
Calm down..
(posted by
Kimberlina
, Mar. 4, 2009 11:49 am)
Yes, this whole thing should not have happened; however, they forgot to mention that both of the kids suffer from some type of mental disability. It was mentioned in the first story that ran on Feb. 5th. Give the girls mother a little credit though, most people wouldn't try to clear someone's name or admit when their child did something wrong!!
What was reason she lied ??
(posted by
returninghome
, Mar. 4, 2009 10:14 am)
There must been a need for this girl to lie? like parents have told her if she had sex the would kick her out what ever the deal was .What kind of girl lies about something like that and sends a guy to jail for nothing? I hope the boys parents sue the parents of the girl or the girl for defamation of character or make the girl do community services to fit the crime. make her work with "real rape victims " I as a mom wouldnt quit till my sons name was cleared .as the girls mom . she needs to find her help
jaeshaun
(posted by
2centsworth
, Mar. 4, 2009 9:49 am)
Get a grip - it every lawyer who lied got disbarred, we wouldn't have any lawyers left. Wait, maybe that's not such a bad idea after all.
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