A Hall County Superior Cour Judge today (Wednesday) set aside a North Hall man’s child molestation conviction and ordered a new trial.
Fausto Romero of Clermont, then 20-years-old, was arrested more than a year ago, charged with one count of child molestation. But Judge Bonnie Chesser Oliver ruled he was wrongly convicted because the State withheld evidence which was favorable to him.
” That evidence only surfaced because we refused to accept the verdict and we never gave up fighting,” Romero’s lawyer, Blake Poole, said Wednesday. That evidence only surfaced because we refused to accept the verdict and we never gave up fighting.
We are so thankful for Judge Oliver who had the courage to protect due process. Sometimes it takes tremendous courage to uphold the Constitution, and this is one of those times. When the State is willing to withhold favorable evidence against one person, it threatens all of us. The Judge’s Order doesn’t just protect Fausto’s rights; it protects all our rights.”
Poole added that with the wrongful conviction set aside, “Fausto once again enjoys his freedom and he looks forward to a fair opportunity to litigate his case.”