Judge vacates convictions in Central Park rape case
12/19/2002
NEW YORK - Thirteen years after the brutal rape and beating of a Central Park jogger, a judge on Thursday dismissed the convictions of all five men who served prison time for the attack.
State Justice Charles Tejada, moving more quickly than defense lawyers and prosecutors had expected, dismissed all indictments against the five less than a week before Christmas. His ruling wasn't expected until Jan. 6.
The decision came two weeks after Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau recommending dropping all the convictions in the case.
The decision to dismiss the indictments means prosecutors would have to start from scratch with a grand jury to retry the five.
Judge Tejeda's decision came after lawyers from the police detectives' union unsuccessfully tried to block his ruling. The Detectives' Endowment Association wanted an evidentiary hearing first, said attorney Philip Karsyk.
The primary evidence in the case had been confessions made to detectives.
Supporters of the accused have said those statements were coerced. All five were between the ages of 14 and 16 when they were arrested in connection with the April 19, 1989, attack.
No forensic evidence linked any of them to the crime scene. In addition, there was a DNA match with a serial rapist who came forward earlier this year to confess to the jogger attack.
The five, now ages 28 to 30, completed prison sentences ranging from 5 1/2 years to 13 years on their convictions. Their lawyers have said they are considering civil lawsuits on their behalf.
At the time of the attack, authorities said a roaming youth gang was in the park for a night of "wilding" -- randomly attacking anyone who came into their path.
The jogger, a 28-year-old investment banker, was found near death in a puddle of mud and blood in the north end of the park. She was in coma for 12 days but eventually recovered. She now lives in a Connecticut suburb and works for a nonprofit organization and is expected to have a book out in April.
Besides rape and assault convictions in connection with the jogger, the boys also were convicted on charges including assault, robbery, sex abuse and rioting stemming from allegations they attacked and harassed other people in the park that night.
Raymond Santana, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson and Kharey Wise confessed on videotape. A detective testified at trial that the fifth, Yusef Salaam, made incriminating admissions to him but never on videotape.
Prosecutors earlier this month asked the court to void the convictions on the basis of "new evidence" which would have resulted in more favorable verdicts to the five if it had been available at their trials.
Mr. Morgenthau said the new evidence included the admission of an imprisoned murderer and rapist, Matias Reyes, 31, and a semen sample that proved through DNA that he had assaulted the jogger.
The ruling could clear the way for the release of Mr. Santana, who is currently imprisoned on an unrelated drug charge. Based on his conviction in the jogger case, he was sentenced as a prior felon, said his attorney, Roger Wareham.
Mr. Santana, serving a 3 1/2-to-7-year sentence, would be eligible for parole next July. Mr. Wareham was calling for his immediate release.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Santana's sentencing judge said Mr. Santana's case was not yet on their calendar.
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