Waukegan man receives innocence certificate
A Waukegan man released from custody in March after DNA evidence proved he was serving prison time for a crime he didn't commit, received written proof of his innocence in Lake County court Thursday.
Angel Gonzalez, 41, smiled widely and said it was good to be "a free man," after the brief court appearance in front of Judge Victoria Rossetti to obtain an official certificate of innocence.
Prosecutors did not object to the certificate.
"I don't have the words to describe how good it feels to be free," Gonzalez said after court. "I'm finally free."
He served 20 years of a 55-year prison sentence for rape and kidnapping a woman in 1994 that DNA proved he could not have committed.
Authorities said the 35-year-old victim was dragged from her home in the early morning hours of July 10, 1994, thrown in a car and driven to a location where she was raped in some bushes. She momentarily escaped, but a second person grabbed her and she was raped again, authorities said.
Police stopped a vehicle matching the victim's description of the car and detained Gonzalez, authorities said. The victim was brought to the traffic stop, where she identified him as her attacker.
Gonzalez was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault resulting in great bodily harm and aggravated kidnapping. He was found guilty at trial in 1995, but officials said Gonzalez maintained his innocence throughout the trial, sentencing and during the 20 years he spent behind bars.
He began working with the New York Innocence Project, and took two DNA tests while in prison, officials said. The second DNA test proved his innocence.
Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim dropped the charges in March, days after receiving the written results of the second DNA test.
The certificate of innocence is a document designed to have a conviction expunged from a defendant's record. It is also one of the last documents needed to clear the way for a potential lawsuit in civil court.
Gonzalez has not filed a civil case, and would not discuss whether he intends to file one in the near future.
"This is a significant step to get his record expunged," said Vanessa Potkin of the New York-based Innocence Project. "He isn't truly mentally free without that expungement."
Gonzalez said that since his release, he has been volunteering his time at PAWS Chicago animal shelter.
"That night, I couldn't wait to get home," he said. "I've been trying to readapt to life since then. I volunteer at PAWS, and have been trying to get more involved in my community."
Gonzalez is one of several wrongful conviction cases that have surfaced since 2012.
Murder cases against Jerry Hobbs, Juan Rivera and James Edwards, and a rape conviction against Bennie Starks, fell apart under the weight of DNA evidence. All have been released from prison except Edwards, who remains behind bars on a separate conviction.
In May, charges were also dropped against Jason Strong, 39, and he was also released from prison. That conviction was overturned because several witnesses recanted statements, another died, and new forensic evidence surfaced that cast doubt on the conviction.
All six of the overturned convictions date back to former state's attorney Michael Waller's 22-year tenure.