Wrongly Convicted Database Record

 

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Vaqar Choudry

 

Charge:

Child Sexual Solicitation

Sentence:

"5 years suspended, 2 years probation & $1,000 fine"

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2013

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Maryland

County or Region of Crime:

Washington

City of Crime:

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

"Vaqar Choudry was wrongly convicted in 2015 of sexual solicitation of a minor in Washington County, Maryland. Choudry's prosecution was based on the testimony of an acquaintance that in 2013 Choudry, who was a dentist, asked her to find him an underage female for sexual relations. The woman contacted the police who coordinated a fake story with her that she had found a 12-year-old, and Choudry was arrested when he went to the motel where he was to meet the woman and the (non-existent) girl. Choudry waived his right to a jury trial, and after his conviction following a bench (judge only) trial, he was sentenced to a 5 year suspended prison sentence, 2 years probation, and a $1,000 fine. Choudry appealed, arguing that he was convicted of a non-existent crime, because the 2004 Maryland law he was prosecuted for violating required that a conviction under the law can only be based on solicitation of either an actual minor or a law enforcement officer posing as a minor -- and the prosecution presented no evidence meeting either requirement. The State countered by arguing that Choudry attempted to solicit a minor. On February 3, 2017 Maryland's Court of Special Appeals reversed Choudry's conviction on the basis of insufficient evidence. The Court ruled that attempted solicitation of a minor is not a crime in Maryland, and Choudry did not solicit either a minor or a law enforcement officer posing as a minor as the law requires."

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On February 3, 2017 Maryland's Court of Special Appeals reversed Choudry's conviction on the basis of insufficient evidence. The Court ruled that attempted solicitation of a minor is not a crime in Maryland, and Choudry did not solicit either a minor or a law enforcement officer posing as a minor as the law requires."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"Choudry v. State, No. 2541, Sept. Term 2015 (Maryland Ct. of Special Appeals, 2-3-2017) (Reversing conviction based on prosecution's failure to present evidence that Choudry solicited a minor.)"

Information Location 1:

http://www.mdcourts.gov/opinions/cosa/2017/2541s15.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Md. dentist’s conviction for child sex solicitation reversed, By The Associated Press, WTOP.com, February 6, 2017"

Information Location 2:

http://wtop.com/maryland/2017/02/md-dentists-conviction-for-child-sex-solicitation-reversed/

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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org

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