Posted on 03/02/2004 6:52:32 AM PST by KeyLargo
Man Spent Months in Jail on False Charges Mon Mar 1, 2:53 PM ET
http://www.ap.org/
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - A homeless Eric Nordmark was baffled and terrified when police arrested him last May and accused him of attacking three 12-year-old girls in a park.
The police were "high-fiving, calling me a creep, calling me a bum, calling me a wino," Nordmark said. "I've never been so freaked out in my life. I have no clue what's going on."
The 37-year-old Nordmark was so scared of being sent away to prison — so afraid of being preyed upon and brutalized as a child abuser by the hard-core inmates — that he resolved to cut his throat if found guilty.
But it never came to that.
After nearly eight months in jail, Nordmark was set free when one of the girls admitted they made up the story as an excuse for coming home late from school.
Police in this Orange County community have charged the three girls with conspiracy, and one of them with perjury as well. They face an appearance in juvenile court on Thursday. The charges carry up to four years and eight months in custody.
Some critics say police sought to cover up their own missteps by bringing charges against the girls and removing them from school in handcuffs. Garden Grove officials put the blame on the girls.
"We made an error in believing, but so did a lot of people," said Mayor Bruce A. Broadwater. "They fooled the judge, they fooled the district attorney's office, they fooled everybody."
Nordmark's case dramatized the dangers of relying on child witnesses. But while some of the most lurid child-molestation cases of 1980s involved youngsters who told false stories after being subjected to suggestive interviewing, this case is alleged to involve out-and-out lying.
Raised in Wisconsin by a teacher and a psychologist, Nordmark dropped out of college after a semester and enlisted in the Army before he took to roaming, often following the Grateful Dead around. At the time of his arrest, he was sleeping behind a Kmart in Orange County.
On May 15, the day of the alleged attack, Nordmark had been released from a night in jail after being arrested for public drunkenness in Anaheim.
According to the girls, he choked them, pulled their hair, threw one of them down on the ground and got on top of her. He was charged was assault and child annoyance, and if convicted could have gotten nearly 7 1/2 years in prison and would have had to register as a sex offender.
His family said they never doubted his innocence.
"He's a peace-loving person not given to violence," said his father, Torberg Nordmark. "Eric's always been mild-mannered, somewhat shy. He likes to keep a low profile."
Nordmark said he was so afraid that he made plans to cut his carotid artery with a razor blade if convicted. He said he told himself: "I'm going to end up acquitted or I'm getting out of here in a body bag."
But his trial was cut short after one accuser admitted lying, just days after she testified that he had choked her.
Police said fear of punishment prompted the girls to concoct the attack story as an excuse for coming home late from school. Prosecutors dropped the case and Nordmark was released Jan. 26.
Attorneys for the girls declined to comment or did not return calls. But the mother of one of the girls, Veronica Mendez Ochoa, said her daughter is "very, very sorry and wants to say sorry to Nordmark. She said to me, `To say sorry is not enough, but it's coming from the heart.'"
Nordmark's lawyer claims police botched the investigation by showing the girls photo lineups with the same order of suspects and by letting at least two of the youngsters confer after one of them saw the pictures. That gave them a chance to get their story straight on which suspect to pick.
Jerry Steering, Nordmark's civil attorney, has threatened to sue the police and seek compensation from the girls' families as well.
Police have denied Nordmark was mistreated during his arrest and defended the investigation.
"Knowing what we now know, would we have done something differently? Yes," said Lt. Mike Handfield. "But there's nothing that suggests we didn't follow the letter of the law. The blame needs to be shifted back on these girls for lying."
Nordmark blames the police more than the girls.
"Who's the only victim? Me. And why am I victim? Because the cops bungled their case," he said in a telephone interview from Seattle. "My civil rights obviously didn't count."
Still, the experience may be a turning point for Nordmark.
"I had eight sober months to think about my life," he said. "I'm 21 years old with 16 years of practice. Maybe it's time to take stock of my life and see what's most important."
There may be a silver lining yet.
???
That charge reminds me of the Orwellian language of bills in Congress.
Michael
Something about the Ten Commandments is just ringing in my ears....Oh yeah! "Thou Shalt NOT Bear False Witness"!
They will get their due.
Don't count on it.
You assume that they're decent and have consciences. My guess is the only thing these little future politicians are worrying about right now is what might happen to them. Personally I think that the exact same punishment as the guy would have gotten would be appropriate ie 7 1/2 years in jail.
they will have some serious explaining and repenting to do.
repentance is fine, but there should penance along with the contrition.
'Tis not a nice thing to utter in polite (Alabama) society.
The sin of "Potential Offense," according to liberals, is greater than the sins of licentiousness turned loose upon society.
Book 'em, Dano!
The liberal moral of the story that for some reason eluded this journalist (but will no doubt make it into Newsweek or some other lib rag/column like that) is that the parents of these 3 girls are squarely to blame. Were it not for their strict, conservative Orange County parenting style, then these girls would not have, in fear & trepidation, concocted this account to avoid being "abused."
The police were right to remove these girls from school in handcuffs, very publicly. It will serve as a vivid warning to others not to repeat their crime. The only way you can stop this sort of thing is with deterrence. These girls volunteered to be made examples of. The public good would not have been well served by arresting them quietly.
They cost this man eight months of his life. They can endure a little public humiliation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.