Charges dismissed against NC man in child sex case

ASHEVILLE, NC (AP) — A North Carolina judge has dismissed all charges and overturned the sentence of a man who spent 22 years in prison after his conviction in a child sex abuse case.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a judge overturned Michael Alan Parker’s sentence Monday. A statement from The Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic says Parker was released Tuesday.

In February 1993, a Henderson County grand jury indicted Parker and eight others on charges that they ritually abused Parker’s three children. Parker was convicted nearly a year later of eight counts of first-degree sex offense and four counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms plus 40 years.

The judge’s ruling came in response to a request filed by the Duke Law Wrongful Convictions clinic and Devereux.

Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com

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