false imprisonment

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After 'Big Wrong' Cleared by DNA, a Big Settlement

Robert DuBoise, freed in 2020 after 37 years behind bars, to be paid $14M by city of Tampa

(Newser) - A Florida man freed in 2020 from nearly four decades behind bars after DNA evidence cleared him of rape and murder will now receive monetary compensation for that time lost. The New York Times reports that on Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously OKed a $14 million settlement for Robert...

Facial Recognition Fails: Pregnant Woman Wrongly Arrested

Porcha Woodruff sues city of Detroit, says facial-recognition technology led to that false arrest

(Newser) - When a very pregnant Porcha Woodruff was approached by cops earlier this year and told she was being arrested, the 32-year-old aesthetician and nursing school student from Detroit initially thought they were kidding. It was no joke, however, and now she's suing the city, alleging a false arrest based...

Alice Sebold's New Life Is One of Grief and 'Shame'

Bestselling author hasn't yet met with Anthony Broadwater, whom she once thought raped her

(Newser) - More than a year after the man she wrongfully accused of raping her had his conviction overturned, author Alice Sebold is still struggling to comprehend her role in what happened. "I still don't know where to go with this but to grief and to silence and to shame,...

Afghan Couple Sues: US Marine Stole Our Baby

US court granted Joshua Mast custody of a foreign citizen, whose relatives allege fraud

(Newser) - US Marine Corps attorney Joshua Mast and his wife, Stephanie, say they "acted admirably" in adopting a young war orphan from Afghanistan. But an Afghan couple tells a very different story, saying Mast stole the child—a relative they gained custody of after her parents and siblings were killed...

Cops: Woman Scammed Own Mom in $140M Psychic Ruse

Sabine Boghici, 48, and accomplices are accused of conning her 82-year-old mother for years

(Newser) - A Brazilian woman was arrested this week and accused of recruiting a group of fake psychics to scam her own 82-year-old mother out of about $140 million in cash, artwork, and jewelry, reports the Washington Post . The alleged scheme began in January 2020, when Genevieve Boghici, the wealthy widow of...

Woman Flees Home, Describes Torture, Rape Over 6 Months

Peter McGuire of Chino Hills, Calif., arrested Saturday, is held without bail

(Newser) - Though a sheriff's deputy responded numerous times to a California home where a young woman was held captive and tortured over six months, help remained elusive until she managed to escape on her own Thursday, according to authorities. The 22-year-old woman, who'd unknowingly moved in with a man...

Police: Pastor, Wife Locked 8 Disabled People in Basement

Other pastors speak up for suspect who says he was operating a ministry

(Newser) - Curtis Keith Bankston and Sophia Simm-Bankston say they were operating a ministry to help people in need in their rented Georgia house. Griffith police say they found eight people locked in the basement, "essentially imprisoned against their will," NBC News reports. All of them are mentally or physically...

YouTubers' Prank Almost Killed a Guy. Now, Guilty Pleas

Alan and Alex Stokes escape jail, get community service and probation

(Newser) - Twin YouTube stars who were facing up to five years behind bars for a pair of bank robbery pranks have managed to avoid prison with guilty pleas. Against the objections of prosecutors, a California judge agreed to reduce the felony false imprisonment charge to a misdemeanor if Alan and Alex...

TSA Agent Jailed for Making Woman Show Breasts

TSA agent Johnathon Lomeli sentenced to 60 days in jail for LAX stunt in June 2019

(Newser) - A former Transportation Security Administration agent who was accused of tricking a traveler into showing her breasts as she went through security at Los Angeles International Airport pleaded no contest Friday to false imprisonment, authorities said. Johnathon Lomeli entered the plea to a felony count and was sentenced to 60...

SC Man Held Naked by Police: 'I Won't Get Over It'

Jethro DeVane, 71, says he was embarrassed, feared for his life, and is suing

(Newser) - A 71-year-old Black man in South Carolina was embarrassed and feared for his life when a police officer looking for teens who might have been breaking into cars held him outside naked and at gunpoint after he peeked out his door to check on the disturbance, the man said in...

Cops: Man Made Woman Watch Roots to Confront Her 'Racism'

Robert Noye allegedly threatened the woman in his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

(Newser) - An Iowa man was arrested Monday after being accused of employing an unusual attempt to school a woman on prejudice and discrimination. The Gazette reports that 52-year-old Robert Lee Noye is facing charges of first-degree harassment and false imprisonment after he allegedly forced a woman at his Cedar Rapids home...

Traveler: TSA Agent Conducted Very Peculiar 'Screening'

Johnathon Lomeli, accused of tricking woman into baring her breasts, is fired

(Newser) - If a Transportation Security Administration agent asks you to lift up your shirt in an airport elevator, he's probably not following screening protocol. One woman found that out the hard way, and now an ex-TSA agent is facing legal repercussions. Per a criminal complaint cited by the AP , 22-year-old...

Court: Arrest Warrant Out for Stan Lee's Former Manager

Keya Morgan accused of elder abuse against late comic book legend

(Newser) - It's been just over six months since Stan Lee died , but controversy still swirls around the late Marvel Comics leader's ex-manager and business partner. Reuters reports that the latest in the saga involving Keya Morgan includes five counts of elder abuse filed against him Friday, including charges of...

Calif. Parents of 13 Enter Plea in Torture Case

It's a guilty plea for David and Louise Turpin

(Newser) - A new development in the case of David Turpin , 57, and his wife, Louise, the California couple accused of holding their 13 children captive inside their home: a guilty plea on charges including torture, child endangerment, false imprisonment, and others. CNN notes Louise Turpin, 50, could be seen crying as...

Accused of Hiding Teacher's Body, Now Wanted for Rape

Police hunting Georgia's Bo Dukes after Tuesday assault

(Newser) - One of the two men charged in connection with the 2005 death of Georgia high school teacher Tara Grinstead allegedly raped two women at gunpoint on Tuesday. Bo Dukes faces new charges of rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after the alleged...

Someone Stole Her ID. She Went to Jail for 49 Days

Joy Morales is suing over her false imprisonment in New Mexico

(Newser) - A New Mexico woman wrongly jailed for weeks in two states after someone stole her identity is suing a New Mexico county and a city that ignored her pleas that they had the wrong person, reports the AP . The Hobbs News-Sun reports lawyers for Joy Morales recently filed a lawsuit...

He'll Get $140 for Each of His 13,991 Days Lost in Prison

But Craig Coley says $2M can't make up for 40 years of false imprisonment

(Newser) - A former California inmate wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years says it was the "worst nightmare" and that even nearly $2 million in state compensation granted on Thursday can't make up for his lost time. The California Victims Compensation Board granted 70-year-old Craig Richard Coley $140 for each...

Photo Taken From Window Led to Missing NC Teen

Hailey Burns rescued hours after her parents got a message online

(Newser) - Shaunna and Anthony Burns awoke on May 23, 2016, to find their daughter missing and their front door unlocked. It is believed Hailey Burns, then 16, left the home in Charlotte, NC, and was picked up less than a mile away by a man she'd met online. A year...

Cops: Man Kept 8 Women Captive in Million-Dollar Home

Kenndric Roberts was allegedly running a human trafficking operation

(Newser) - A man has been charged with holding eight women against their will inside a million-dollar home in the suburbs of Atlanta, NBC News reports. Authorities say 33-year-old Kenndric Roberts met the women online and offered them modeling jobs. But once they moved into the 6,800-square-foot, five-bedroom house he was...

Woman's Plot to Frame Ex on Facebook Backfires

Stephani Lawson will now spend a year in jail

(Newser) - "I didn't have any doubt I would have been able to convict this kid,” says an Orange County DA of Tyler Parkervest. Except it turns out the Irvine, Calif., man had been framed by his ex-girlfriend. Parkervest was arrested four times between September and December of last...

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