A judge has granted a sex offender's request for a hearing on his innocence claim after a Great Neck child sex abuse case in which he pleaded guilty.
In a Tuesday decision, acting NY State Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan granted Jesse Friedman a hearing to determine whether he is actually innocent, scheduling the proceeding for early 2015. Corrigan also rejected Friedman's bid to have his conviction overturned.
Friedman, 45, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in 1988 to sexually abusing boys who took computer classes at his family's home and got out of prison in 2001. He has since claimed he pleaded guilty to avoid life behind bars if convicted at trial and that police manipulated children into making false claims against him.
His case was the subject of a 2003 documentary called "Capturing the Friedmans" that won a Sundance Film Festival prize and raised questions about Friedman's prosecution and also questioned evidence behind the accusations.
The judge's decision follows the Nassau County district attorney's decision in September not to oppose Friedman's bid for an innocence claim hearing. But prosecutors said in the same filing that Friedman had "made misrepresentations concerning evidence of his actual innocence" and that there were statements from victims who still maintain they were abused.
Prosecutors had opposed the June motion from Friedman that sought to have his conviction vacated. Friedman said in a June press conference that he "never committed a crime against any child, ever" and said his life was hampered by his sex-offender status.
Neither Friedman's attorney nor the prosecutors immediately commented on the judge's decision Monday.
In her ruling, Corrigan also noted that she hadn't watched the documentary because she believed her decision "should be decided on evidence that is not subject to the editing skills of successful and talented movie producers."
"The burden is now on the defendant to establish his innocence by clear and convincing evidence," the judge wrote.
In a Tuesday decision, acting NY State Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan granted Jesse Friedman a hearing to determine whether he is actually innocent, scheduling the proceeding for early 2015. Corrigan also rejected Friedman's bid to have his conviction overturned.
 |
| Jesse Friedman and wife Lisabeth I don't remember ever seeing a pedophile with a very attractive wife |
His case was the subject of a 2003 documentary called "Capturing the Friedmans" that won a Sundance Film Festival prize and raised questions about Friedman's prosecution and also questioned evidence behind the accusations.
The judge's decision follows the Nassau County district attorney's decision in September not to oppose Friedman's bid for an innocence claim hearing. But prosecutors said in the same filing that Friedman had "made misrepresentations concerning evidence of his actual innocence" and that there were statements from victims who still maintain they were abused.
 |
| Nassau County, New York |
Neither Friedman's attorney nor the prosecutors immediately commented on the judge's decision Monday.
In her ruling, Corrigan also noted that she hadn't watched the documentary because she believed her decision "should be decided on evidence that is not subject to the editing skills of successful and talented movie producers."
"The burden is now on the defendant to establish his innocence by clear and convincing evidence," the judge wrote.
No comments:
Post a Comment