NY- False rape charge and conviction leave justice delayed for William McCaffrey

8-17-2009 New York:

A man is sitting in an upstate prison, wrongly convicted of a rape he didn't commit - a rape that, in fact, never happened. He must be released immediately, and the criminal justice system must aim its fury at the woman whose brazen lies put him there.

What Biurney Peguero did to William McCaffrey, a man she barely knew, is beyond despicable. She must be punished.

This is what Peguero told police and swore in court during a 2006 criminal trial: Early on the morning of Sept. 18, 2005, she was sitting in a parked car in upper Manhattan when McCaffrey stopped to talk to her and invited her to a party. They drove off; they pulled over on a dark street. McCaffrey, she said, drew a knife and viciously assaulted her, slapping her, raping her and leaving bite marks on her left arm and shoulder.

It was a complete fabrication.

What really happened, she and other witnesses now say, is that after they drove away, Peguero started getting angry calls from pals she'd left stranded when she took off in the car. She arranged to meet them at a garage. When they got there, one of Peguero's furious friends attacked her.

A female friend.

The fight was so violent that one of the women's heels cracked a car window. Peguero was left with bites, bruises and scratches. To explain her injuries, she went to a Jersey City hospital and cried rape. And McCaffrey, convicted in Manhattan Supreme Court on the strength of Peguero's story alone, went to prison to begin serving a 20-year term.

Now, far more sophisticated tests than were available in 2006 have found that the only DNA on Peguero's body - saliva - was not McCaffrey's. In fact, it came from a woman. Peguero has recanted her testimony to a priest and to the district attorney. Her friend has confessed to being the attacker in the garage.

There was no rape. McCaffrey, it turns out, was a gentleman through the entire encounter, even taking the wheel when it became apparent Peguero was far too drunk to drive.

An innocent man has spent the last three years in prison, a tragedy and a travesty of justice that must be remedied - today.

A court hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 9, but McCaffrey shouldn't have to wait that long. Surely his attorney, Glenn Garber of the Exoneration Initiative, and the Manhattan DA's office can do some creative lawyering and get him out.

As for Peguero, who is pregnant and has a 5-year-old, she committed perjury, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. She could also be deported to the Dominican Republic.

Whatever the punishment - and it must be swift and sure - it will never make up for what she did to McCaffrey. Free him now. ..Source.. by NY Daily News