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Rank amateurs!
Topic Started: Mar 3 2014, 05:30 PM (197 Views)
Quasimodo

Quote:
 
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/man-framed-rape-settles-article-1.1337451

San Jose, Calif., man framed in rape by police, prosecutor to settle with city

A policeman fabricated a crime report saying Michael Kerkeles’ semen was found at the crime scene. The agreement is for $150,000.

BY DAVID KNOWLES / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2013, 4:41 PM

A San Jose, Calif., man will settle with the city after police and a prosecutor framed him in the sexual assault of a developmentally disabled woman.

Michael Kerkeles, charged in 2005 with raping his neighbor, and the San Jose City Council agreed to a $150,000 cash settlement in a case that upended the defendant’s life.

“It's a significant sum, but Mr. Kerkeles certainly wouldn't trade the money he got for what he went through,” Kerkeles’ lawyer, Matt Davis, told the San Jose Mercury News.

In an attempt to get Kerkeles to confess, San Jose Police Sgt. Matthew Christian concocted a phony crime report that claimed Kerkeles’ semen was found on a blanket at the scene of the crime.

In fact, the actual report, which prosecutor Jamie Stringfield kept in a file in her office, showed no sign of Kerkeles’ semen.

While there was no other evidence that Kerkeles was involved in the sexual assault, Stringfield used the falsified report to persuade a judge that there was probable cause to charge Kerkeles.

On the bogus report, Christian concocted a fake name, Rebecca Roberts, as the lab analyst and dated it within a day of the purported evidence collection. Routine DNA testing takes much longer to complete, but the report was deemed sufficient evidence to proceed with charges against Kerkeles.

In court, Christian testified under oath that the report incriminating Kerkeles was true.

Stringfield later admitted that she knowingly misled the court about the lab report and was suspended for a month, the Mercury News reported. She has since left the District Attorney’s office and has become a teacher. Christian, meanwhile, remains on the San Jose police force.

Kerkeles was forced to defend himself in court for six years despite being at work during the crime, and the prosecutor and investigating police officer knew that their evidence was pure fiction.

After Kerkeles’ legal fees are factored in, the total settlement will reach nearly $1 million.




They should have called in the pros from Durham if they wanted to craft a thorough frame...




(MOO)
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Quasimodo


POSTER COMMENT at site:

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The FBI or US Marshals need to step in and bust these guys for falsifying documents and lying under oath. This story makes me nauseous.


Apparently that's not in the FBI's job description (sarc/off); but otherwise I know how the writer feels...


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MikeZPU

Quote:
 
In an attempt to get Kerkeles to confess, San Jose Police Sgt. Matthew Christian
concocted a phony crime report that claimed Kerkeles’ semen was found on a blanket at the scene of the crime.


Okay, so this brings me back to my pet peeve.

Who the hell decided that cops are allowed to lie to suspects during
their interrogation? From what I understand watching the show
Forensics Files, this is allowed.

This should NOT be allowed!!! OR, at the very least, there should
be serious limits on what is acceptable!!!

I realize that in this case, it was NOT that Christian lied to the suspect
about his semen being present on the blanket that was a problem in
the eyes of the law -- apparently, it's okay to do that (which is ridiculous!!!)

It was the fact that Stringfield used the phony report to support probable
cause and ultimately charge the suspect.

Suspension for one month!!!! This is SERIOUS! Stringfield should have
been disbarred, and Christian should be fired from the police force!



Edited by MikeZPU, Mar 3 2014, 07:16 PM.
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