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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Kidnapping (incld. Abduction) |
Sentence: |
7 years |
Years Imprisoned: |
17.8 |
Year Crime: |
1996 |
Year Convicted: |
1996 |
Year Cleared: |
2014 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
New Jersey |
County or Region of Crime: |
Essex |
City of Crime: |
East Orange |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Rodney R. Roberts was wrongly convicted on July 16, 1996 of second-degree kidnapping in the rape and kidnapping of 17-year-old Sheronda Atwell on May 8, 1996 in East Orange, New Jersey. The crime was investigated by the Newark Police Department: Newark borders East Orange. Although it was dark and raining and she was attacked from behind while walking on the street and dragged into an empty lot, Atwell described her assailant as a black male who was 20 years old, 5'7" and about 185 pounds. Atwell’s assailant ejaculated in her, and her rape kit included a swab of her vagina was collected by the health care personnel who examined her. Roberts was 29 when arrested for theft on May 25, 1996. At the time he was on parole for a 1986 sexual assault conviction, and he was held without bail. On June 12, 1996 Roberts pled guilty to the theft charge, and he was also charged with a violation of his parole for his 1986 conviction. Newark Police Department Detective Derrick Eutsey represented to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office that Atwell had positively identified Roberts from a photo array that included a 1986 mug shot photo of Roberts when he was 19-years-old. Roberts was charged with the aggravated sexual assault and kidnapping of Atwell, based on the prosecution’s representation that the victim had identified Roberts as her assailant. He was unrepresented when he pled not guilty during his arraignment on June 26, 1996. Roberts was scheduled to have an appearance on the case three weeks later, on July 16, 1996. On the day of that hearing public defender Charles Martone informed Roberts that he had been assigned to represent him. The public defender explained the victim had positively ID him, and that the prosecution was offering a plea deal that if he pled guilty to kidnapping and a seven year prison sentence -- with early release on parole -- the sexual assault charge would be dropped, and he would be sentenced to concurrent three year prison terms for both the theft conviction and the parole violation. The public defender explained that he would be facing decades in prison if he was convicted after a trial, so Roberts accepted the plea deal. Essex County Superior Court Judge Eugene Codey sentenced Rodney Roberts on October 17, 1996 to seven years in prison. Roberts was denied parole in 1998 and again in 2000, because he refused to admit his guilt, and his unconvicted charge of rape, and his 1986 sexual assault conviction were considered to make him a risk for recidivism. On January 12, 2001 Roberts filed a pro se motion to withdraw his guilty plea that claimed Martone provided ineffective assistance of counsel by advising him the dismissed sexual assault charge would not be used to penalize him in future proceedings. Judge Codey summarily denied Roberts’ motion on January 18, 2001. In 2002 Roberts requested DNA testing of Atwell’s rape kit, but the Attorney General’s Office informed him there was no evidence to test. On June 24, 2003 Roberts was again denied parole, and his appeal of that decision was denied on October 29, 2003 by the appeal board that stated the parole board “must consider the information provided by the Department of Corrections.” In 2004 Roberts completed his prison term, but instead of being released, the New Jersey Attorney General filed a petition for his indeterminate civil commitment under the New Jersey Sexually Violent Predator Act. Pending his civil commitment hearing, on June 1, 2004 Roberts was transferred to the Special Treatment Unit for sex offenders at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Avenel, New Jersey. John Douard with the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender was assigned to represent Roberts.Douard interviewed Atwell, who told him that she never made a photo identification of her assailant and she did not even know that a person had been arrested and convicted for her assault. During the commitment hearing that began on December 9, 2004 Douard learned that a rape kit had been prepared from Atwell’s medical examination after her assault, and that an analysis of that evidence conducted on July 18, 1996 -- two days after Roberts pled guilty -- noted the presence of her assailant’s sperm. The analyst requested blood and saliva samples from Roberts to compare with DNA testing of the rape kit. However, the analyst’s request was ignored and the comparison of Roberts’ DNA with testing of the rape kit for male DNA evidence was never performed. Douard wrote a letter to the Essex County Asst. Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino requesting comparison of Roberts’ DNA with DNA recoverable from the rape kit. Roberts’ submitted a cheek swab, but his DNA was only compared with the DNA of a vaginal slide in the rape kit -- not the actual swabs or a control saliva sample from Atwell. Laurino informed the lab that everything the Newark P.D. had was sent to the lab for testing. The lab’s report dated August 29, 2005 concluded that all the DNA on the vaginal slide was female -- so it excluded the presence of Roberts’ DNA. Atwell informed Essex County prosecutor investigator Michele R. Bolan that she gave birth to a son nine months after her rape, and she requested a paternity test to determine if Roberts’ was the father. Bolan discussed the situation with Laurino, who refused to authorize the paternity test. On September 27, 2005 Douard obtained an affidavit from Atwell in which she stated she had never identified her attacker to the police, and she did not know anyone had been arrested. (Two years later, on June 22, 2007 Atwell recertified the truth of her 2005 statement.) Roberts filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief on February 15, 2006, and sought to withdraw his guilty plea. Judge Codey summarily denied the motion on the basis it was identical to the motion denied in 2001 and that it was time-barred. Roberts appealed. The Superior Court Appellate Division (SCAD) remanded so that Roberts could be assigned counsel for consideration of the issues of his motion’s timeliness and if it was procedurally barred. (See, State v. Roberts, 2007 WL 1468631, *1 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 22, 2007)) On remand, Assistant Public Defender Stefan J. Van Jura was assigned to represent Roberts. The prosecution’s brief filed on July 23, 2007 prior to oral arguments about Roberts’ petition asserted that DNA testing on August 29, 2005 of Atwell’s swabs and rape kit “did not provide conclusive results," which assistant prosecutor Clara Rodriguez repeated during the oral arguments. Van Jura did not challenge the truthfulness of the prosecution’s statements, because Roberts was in fact exclusded as to contributor of DNA on the slide that only contained female DNA -- which was the only evidence in the rape kit that was DNA tested. On July 30, 2007 Judge Codey denied Roberts PCR petition, and dismissed the evidentiary value of Atwell’s 2005 and 2007 statements as being “riddled with inconsistencies.” Codey also ruled that Martone provided adequate counsel because he obtained a “very favorable plea bargain” for Roberts. Roberts appealed. On July 17, 2009 the SCAD remanded and ordered an evidentiary hearing regarding two issues: First, to resolve the conflict between Atwell’s 2005 and 2007 statements she never ID her assailant and the prosecution’s claim she positively identified Roberts in 1996; and, Second, to determine what advice Martone gave Roberts regarding his guilty plea. Van Jura represented Roberts during the hearing on October 27, 2009. Roberts testified Martone persuaded him to plead guilty by telling him that he had spoken to Atwell and she positively identified Roberts. Roberts also testified his DNA was not found on the slide that was tested. Martone testified he never talked with Atwell. Investigator Bolan testified that in 2005 Laurino told her not to pursue a paternity test. At the conclusion of the hearing Judge Codey directed Assistant Prosecutor Rodriguez to locate the missing biological evidence and ordered a paternity test for Atwell’s son. The paternity test determined Roberts was not the father of Atwell’s son. Judge Codey denied Robert’s PCR petition on May 19, 2010. He ruled the fact Robert’s was not the father of Atwell’s son did not exclude him as her rapist -- and that Martone was credible in denying he told Roberts that Atwell told him she ID Roberts. Roberts appealed. On March 8, 2013 the SCAD for the third time reversed a ruling by Codey. The appeals court ruled that Van Jura erred in not presenting Douard or investigator Price who could have bolstered the credibility of Atwell’s statements, that he erred in not arguing that the 2005 DNA results “on its face, excluded defendant’s DNA,” and that he should have called an expert to explain the significance of the DNA evidence. The court remanded for another evidentiary hearing. Roberts was assigned a new lawyer -- Michael Pastacaldi. The case also was assigned to a new judge -- Sherry Hutchins-Henderson -- who ordered Rodriguez to locate Atwell’s rape kit. Rodriguez had failed to produce the rape kit after being ordered to do so by Judge Codey, who had retired on Sept. 1, 2011 after 20 years as a judge, and joined a law firm. Rodriguez reported to the court on June 17, 2013 that the entire original rape kit had been located. DNA testing was ordered. On October 24, 2013, the forensic unit reported Roberts was excluded as the source of the sperm on Atwell’s vagina swab. Based on the new evidence, Roberts’ guilty plea was vacated on November 21, 2013, and a new trial was ordered. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office opted not to retry Roberts, and their motion to dismiss the charges was granted on February 20, 2014 by Judge Hutchins-Henderson. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office agreed to the setting aside of the finding that Roberts was a sexual predator. On March 10, 2014, the petition for Roberts’ civil commitment was dismissed, and he was released from the STU on March 12, 2014. Roberts had been wrongly in custody for 17 years, 9 months, and 16 days (6,501 days) -- 7 years for his prison sentence and the balance for his civil commitment. On September 24, 2015 Roberts filed a federal civil rights (42 USC 1983) lawsuit that named as defendants: Essex County; City of Newark; Newark PD; Eutsey; Essex County Prosecutor’s Office; Laurino; Bolan; Martone; and, Van Jura. On August 12, 2016 U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McNulty ruled the following claims could proceed to trial: Fabrication of evidence, negligence, and due process violations by Laurino and Bolan; Laurino’s supervisor liability; Vicarious liability against ECPO and City of Newark; and legal malpractice by Martone. Eutsey’s motion to dismiss the claims against him was still pending." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
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Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
29 |
Age When Released: |
47 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Black |
Information Source 1: |
"Man Exonerated by DNA Test Moves Forward With Civil Suit, By David Gialanella, New Jersey Law Journal, August 15, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202765087191/Man-Exonerated-by-DNA-Test-Moves-Forward-With-Civil-Suit?slreturn=20160716115213 |
Information Source 2: |
"Rodney R. Roberts v. County of Essex, et al, Case No. 2:15-cv-07061-KM-JBC (USDC Dist of NJ) (Ruling on summary judgment motion by the defendants -- denying dismissal by some defendants)" |
Information Location 2: |
https://ecf.njd.uscourts.gov/doc1/119111144176 |
Information Source 3: |
"Newark man set free after serving 17 years for a rape he says he did not commit, By Thomas Zambito (NJ.com), April 8, 2014" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/newark_man_freed_after_17_years_for_a_rape_he_says_he_did_not_commit.html |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org