Photo: Former police officer Brian Franklin; source Daily Mail
A former Fort Worth (TX) police officer who spent 21 years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl was found not guilty during a re-trial—after the victim admitted she fabricated the alleged incident.
Former officer Brian Franklin, now 57, was sentenced in life in prison in 1995 for allegedly raping the girl, according to a Fox4News report.
Franklin had been released in May, when a court ruling found that Franklin had been denied due process because the alleged victim lied under oath during 2014 hearing. It was during this hearing that the alleged victim admitted that she lied.
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Franklin was a friend of the victim’s step-father. And after reporting that Franklin raped her, the victim did not disclose that she had been sexually active prior to the alleged rape encounter with Franklin.
Moreover, the victim hid the fact that her step-father had been sexually assaulting her for years, according to a report from the Daily Mail. The alleged victim later testified that she was too scared to reveal her step-father’s sexual abuse.
Wrongful convictions unfortunately occur, however, what is perhaps most concerning about Franklin’s case, is that there was no DNA evidence linking Franklin to the alleged crime. Instead, prosecutors relied entirely upon the 13-year-old’s testimony.
Since his arrest, Franklin had always maintained his innocence, despite the odds against him: “I had the trifecta against me, I was an innocent man, I was a former police officer; and I was accused of raping a child.”
Regarding his acquittal, Franklin said, ‘I knew it was going to come…I wasn’t surprised.”
Franklin said he wants to prevent wrongful convictions from happening to others: “I’m not the first and I probably won’t be the last…When the system makes mistakes, they need to admit it.” Franklin is also working with his attorney to have the charge expunged and plans to file a declaration of innocence.
Court records do not indicate whether charges of perjury have been filed against the alleged victim, who is now in her 30s.
