LovelyPigeon
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Man freed after 20 years
Alleged victims recant stories of sexual abuse
By Associated Press BAKERSFIELD -- A judge threw out the child molestation conviction of a man who spent 20 years in prison, siding Friday with the defense after most of the alleged victims claimed the assaults never happened.
John Stoll, now 60, was convicted in 1985 on 17 counts of child molestation. Attorneys for two Innocence Project chapters in California have worked for his freedom, claiming authorities coerced false testimony from the victims, who were 6 to 8 years old at the time.
Stoll was convicted of assaulting six children in a crime ring that allegedly included sodomy, group sex and pornographic photography.
Prosecutors presented no physical evidence at the original trial. None of the children were ever examined by doctors, even though some of the allegations included forcible sodomy. The case rested on testimony alone.
Four of Stoll's accusers, now adults, testified in January they were manipulated by investigators who dogged them for hours until they fabricated the stories. A fifth witness testified he has no memories from that part of his childhood. --->>
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2121079,00.html
Alleged victims recant stories of sexual abuse
By Associated Press BAKERSFIELD -- A judge threw out the child molestation conviction of a man who spent 20 years in prison, siding Friday with the defense after most of the alleged victims claimed the assaults never happened.
John Stoll, now 60, was convicted in 1985 on 17 counts of child molestation. Attorneys for two Innocence Project chapters in California have worked for his freedom, claiming authorities coerced false testimony from the victims, who were 6 to 8 years old at the time.
Stoll was convicted of assaulting six children in a crime ring that allegedly included sodomy, group sex and pornographic photography.
Prosecutors presented no physical evidence at the original trial. None of the children were ever examined by doctors, even though some of the allegations included forcible sodomy. The case rested on testimony alone.
Four of Stoll's accusers, now adults, testified in January they were manipulated by investigators who dogged them for hours until they fabricated the stories. A fifth witness testified he has no memories from that part of his childhood. --->>
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2121079,00.html