Last week we discussed a 51-year-old Wisconsin man who was found not guilty in a sexual assault case. A jury of the man's peers did not find the evidence brought against him to prove the accusations. While this prevented prison time for the 51-year-old, there will still be people who know of the man's case and judge him just based on the accusations.

This unpreventable collateral damage happens simply by claiming someone committed a sex crime and can cause the accused to forever be branded a criminal, despite a ruling that says otherwise.

In a similar story, a man from Turtle Lake, Wisconsin had his sexual assault case thrown out after the 11-year-old girl who claimed he molested her admitted she lied about the assault. The man works as a driver for a handicapped transportation service, and the 11-year-old claimed the man took her to his home and sexually assaulted her.

However, officials who investigated the case found the girl's story difficult to verify. GPS records show that the man did not deviate from his normal route on the night the 11-year-old claims he molested her. This information was presented to the girl who then admitted to fabricating the assault.

"A prosecutor's worst nightmare" is how the Polk County District Attorney described what happened to the man. He has dropped the case against the man and will move to clear the charges from the court records.

Sex crimes are very serious and have long-lasting effects on everyone involved. But those accused of committing such an act have the right to an attorney and are innocent until proven guilty. Had due process not been exercised in this case, we could have been discussing a very different outcome for the man.

Source: KARE 11, "Wis. Man cleared after girl admits lying about sexual assault," Jan. 9, 2012