Christopher Burrowes

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Charge:	Sexual Assault/Misconduct with a child
Sentence:	3 years
Years Imprisoned:	3
Year Crime:	2006
Year Convicted:	2007
Year Cleared:	2009
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Wisconsin
County or Region of Crime:	Milwaukee
City of Crime:	Milwaukee
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Christopher Burrowes was wrongly convicted in 2007 of first-degree sexual assault of a child that allegedly occurred in 2006. Christopher Burrowes has been awarded $15,000 in compensation by the State of Wisconsin for his three years of wrongful imprisonment for sexual assault. Burrowes was 21 when arrested in 2006 for sexually assaulting 12-year-old Denise Beck. He was acquainted with her because she visited the basketball courts where he played that were near her home. She told police she had sex with Burrowes at his Milwaukee home. Burrowes denied the accusation and refused a plea deal. Although there was no physical, forensic or eyewitness evidence supporting the girl’s testimony, a jury convicted Burrowes on February 7, 2007 of first-degree sexual assault of a child. He was sentenced to three years in prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Shortly after Burrowes was released in late 2009 Ms. Beck, who was then 16, told police while being interviewed about another matter that she falsely accused Burrowes of having sex with her to hide that she was having sex with an uncle that she was in love with. When her mother became suspicious she was sexually active, the girl blamed Burrowes to protect her uncle. The Milwaukee County DA reopened Burrowes case. After an investigation determined the girl’s recantation was credible the DA filed a Motion to Vacate Conviction and Dismiss Charges. On December 16, 2009 Burrowes conviction was vacated. The judge also ordered that Burrowes name be removed from Wisconsin’s Sex Offender Registry. Burrowes filed a claim for compensation with Wisconsin’s Claims Board for $15,000. Wisconsin’s wrongful conviction compensation statute permits a maximum payment of $5,000 per year for up to 5 years of imprisonment. So Burrowes claim was for the maximum allowed for his 3 years in custody. The Milwaukee DA didn’t oppose Burrowes claim, and on October 11, 2011 the Claims Board determined there is clear and convincing evidence of Burrowes’ innocence and approved payment of $15,000 to him. Burrowes, now 26, lives in Milwaukee and his daughter Christiana, who was three when she saw him being arrested in 2006, is now eight. After his conviction was overturned in 2009 he told reporters, “It matters a lot for her to know that she’s got a good daddy, and I’m going to be there for her and I’m not the type of guy that they tried to play me out to be.”"
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by the alleged victim to cover-up that she was having sex with her uncle.
Innocence Proved By:	"Christopher Burrowes conviction was overturned on December 16, 2009."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$15,000 (State of Wisconsin, October 2011)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	21
Age When Released:	24
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Black
Information Source 1:	"Judge Throws Out Sexual Assault Conviction, Staff, WISN (Milwaukee, WI), December 17, 2009"
Information Location 1:	http://www.wisn.com/r/21998361/detail.html
Information Source 2:	"Milwaukee Man Exonerated After Victim Changes Story, 93 Rock, December 18, 2009"
Information Location 2:	http://93rockon.com/news/articles/2009/dec/18/milwaukee-man-exonerated-after-victim-changes-stor/
Information Source 3:	"Christopher Burrowes - Ruling #6, State of Wisconsin Claims Board, October 11, 2011"
Information Location 3:	https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/journals/senate/20111028/_117
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Christopher Burrowes

Charge:

Sexual Assault/Misconduct with a child

Sentence:

3 years

Years Imprisoned:

3

Year Crime:

2006

Year Convicted:

2007

Year Cleared:

2009

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Wisconsin

County or Region of Crime:

Milwaukee

City of Crime:

Milwaukee

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by the alleged victim to cover-up that she was having sex with her uncle.

Innocence Proved By:

"Christopher Burrowes conviction was overturned on December 16, 2009."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$15,000 (State of Wisconsin, October 2011)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

21

Age When Released:

24

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Black

Information Source 1:

"Judge Throws Out Sexual Assault Conviction, Staff, WISN (Milwaukee, WI), December 17, 2009"

Information Location 1:

http://www.wisn.com/r/21998361/detail.html

Information Source 2:

"Milwaukee Man Exonerated After Victim Changes Story, 93 Rock, December 18, 2009"

Information Location 2:

http://93rockon.com/news/articles/2009/dec/18/milwaukee-man-exonerated-after-victim-changes-stor/

Information Source 3:

"Christopher Burrowes - Ruling #6, State of Wisconsin Claims Board, October 11, 2011"

Information Location 3:

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/journals/senate/20111028/_117

Information Source 4:

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Information Source 5:

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Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

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