Man charged in Central Park jogger case will be exonerated
MANHATTAN (PIX11) --- A man who was just 15 when he was charged in the "Central Park Jogger" case will have his conviction overturned Monday, officials said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg plans to move to dismiss the indictment and vacate the guilty plea of Steven Lopez during court proceedings Monday afternoon, according to the district attorney's office.
Lopez, 48, was just 15 when he and a group of teens were arrested for allegedly raping a white woman in Central Park in 1989. Lopez made a deal with prosecutors before the trial to avoid more serious charges and copped to robbing a male jogger in a separate case on the same night, according to the New York Times.
Corey Wise, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, and Raymond Santana were convicted of raping and severely beating Trisha Meili in Central Park. The five teens, then known as the Central Park Five, were exonerated in 2002.
There were originally eight people arrested in the high-profile case and three took plea deals, including Lopez.