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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Child/Minor Sex Abuse (incl. molestation) |
Sentence: |
8 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
5.25 |
Year Crime: |
1997 |
Year Convicted: |
1997 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Wisconsin |
County or Region of Crime: |
Kenosha |
City of Crime: |
Kenosha |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Willie Gavin was wrongly convicted in 1997 of sexually assaulting a 15 year old girl in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There was no physical evidence a crime had been commited, so the only evidence against Gavin was the girl's statement. Gavin insisted on his innocence, but after talking to his minister who told him he wouldn't receive a fair trial, Gavin pled no contest to child sexual assault charges in exchange for a lesser sentence than he would have received after being convicted following a trial. Gavin was sentenced to 8 years in prison. While Gavin was imprisoned the girl recanted her testimony by confessing to her minister nithing had happened and she lied, she wrote a statement admitting she had lied, and she told family members the same thing. The girl said she "felt pressured" to say something had happened. Gavin was released by the parole board in 2002 after he served 5 years and 3 months in prison. After his release Gavin was required to register as a sex offender. Gavin filed a post-conviction motion to withdraw his no contest plea, and during an evidentiary hearing in 2014 the then 32 year old woman recanted her earlier accusations and testified about why she lied. The judge granted the petition and when the motion to dismiss the charges submitted by the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office was granted in February 2014. Gavin filed a claim for compensation from the State of Wisconsin, and in June 2015 he was awarded the maximum of $25,000, plus $23,703.50 to pay his post-conviction legal fees and costs associated with court fees and his time on supervised release." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by Gavin's accuser. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Gavin filed a post-conviction motion to withdraw his no contest plea, and during an evidentiary hearing in 2014 the then 32 year old woman recanted her earlier accusations and testified about why she lied. The judge granted the petition and when the motion to dismiss the charges submitted by the Kenosha County District Attorney's Office was granted in February 2014." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$48,703.50 (State of Wisconsin, June 2015)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
37 |
Age When Released: |
42 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"State to pay man for wrongful imprisonment: Years later, accuser recants story, By Janine Anderson, Kenosha News, June 15, 2015" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/state_to_pay_man_for_wrongful_imprisonment_483043957.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org