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A man who spent nearly three decades behind bars for a rape the victim said he did not commit was freed from prison this week, prosecutors in Louisiana said.
Patrick Brown was convicted of aggravated rape in 1994 in a case involving his 6-year-old stepdaughter, but during the trial, the stepdaughter did not testify; instead, adults testified to what they believed she had said, Orleans Parish prosecutors said.
“Today, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office (OPDA), led by the Civil Rights Division, asked the court to vacate the wrongful conviction of Mr. Patrick Brown for aggravated rape and subsequently, order his release from prison,” the office released in a statement Monday.
Immediately following a Monday court hearing before Criminal District Court Judge Calvin Johnson, Brown was released.
As he left court a free man after the hearing, Brown raised his arms into the air.
Since 2002, the stepdaughter, now an adult, “has repeatedly asked previous administrations to review this case, correct the injustice, and rightfully prosecute the actual perpetrator,” prosecutors said. No investigations into her case ever took place until District Attorney Jason Williams took office and launched its Civil Rights Division.
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‘Dismissed and ignored’
In a statement released by his office, Williams said it is “incredibly disheartening to know that this woman was dismissed and ignored, no matter how inconvenient her truth, when all she wanted was the real offender to be held responsible.”
“When someone is wrongfully convicted, not only is it an injustice for the person who has years of their life stolen, but it is an injustice for the victim and the people of New Orleans because the real perpetrator is left to harm others,” the head prosecutor said.
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Civil Rights Division Chief Emily Maw said the victim has endured “not just the deep trauma of child sexual assault, but the trauma of knowing the wrong man has been imprisoned for almost three decades while the man who raped her walked free.”
“This is a very sad case,” Maw continued, “but we are hopeful that this will bring some closure to the victim and that she, and Mr. Brown, can move forward in healing.”
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
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