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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Sexual Assault (includes aggravated) |
Sentence: |
7 years 6 months |
Years Imprisoned: |
5.1 |
Year Crime: |
2000 |
Year Convicted: |
2008 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Virginia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Hampton |
City of Crime: |
Hampton |
Result: |
Pardoned |
Summary of Case: |
"Johnathan Chrisopher Montgomery was wrongly convicted in 2008 of sexual assault in Hampton, Virginia. Montgomery's prosecution was based on the testimony of a former neighbor, Elizabeth Coast, that in 2001 when she was 10, he molested her. Johnathan Montgomery was arrested in October 2007. He waived his right to a jury trial. After his conviction by a judge Montgomery was sentenced to 45 years in prison, however, the judge suspended 37-1/2 years conditional on his good behavior after serving 7-1/2 years in prison. In October 2012 Coast recanted her testimony, and in November 2012 she was fired from her job with the Hampton Police Department and she was charged with perjury. On November 19, 2012 Montgomery filed a pardon petition, and on November 20, 2012 Gov. Robert McDonnell granted him a conditional pardon. Coast pled guilty to perjury on May 21, 2013, and on August 19, 2013 she was sentenced to a five year prison sentence, with 4 years and 10 months suspended pending good behavior after she served two months in custody. Coast was also ordered to pay Montgomery $90,000 resitution. Montgomery was granted a certificate of innocence by the Virginia Court of Appeals on December 20, 2013. The Virginia legislature voted in 2015 to award Montgomery $175,000 compensation, and the governor signed the bill. " |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by the alleged victim to a non-existent molestation. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Recantation by the alleged victim that no crime occurred. |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and Hogan Lovells, a Northern Virginia law firm" |
Compensation Awarded: |
"$175,440 (State of Virginia, 2015)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
22 |
Age When Released: |
26 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Johnathan Christopher Montgomery v. Commonwealth of Virginia, No. 2300121 (VA Ct of Appeals, 12-20-2013)" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/2300121.pdf |
Information Source 2: |
"Virginia court declares Johnathon Montgomery an innocent man, By Peter Dujardin (staff), Daily Press, December 20, 2013" |
Information Location 2: |
http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-12-20/news/dp-nws-montgomery-writ-20131220_1_johnathon-montgomery-innocence-petition-elizabeth-paige-coast |
Information Source 3: |
"Innocence petition filed in Hampton case, By Frank Green (staff), Richmond Times-Dispatch, Decembe 21, 2012" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/innocence-petition-filed-in-hampton-case/article_2fc952a2-467d-5171-8fd7-782c02473570.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org