'Capturing the Friedmans' defendant loses defamation suit against prosecutor
The surviving defendant in a controversial child sex-abuse case portrayed in the documentatry Capturing the Friedmans has been out of prison for nearly 15 years.
However, Jesse Friedman is still seeking vindication. It remained elusive Monday, as a New York judge dismissed his defamation suit against a former Nassau County district attorney, reports the New York Daily News.
Absolute immunity protected the office of Kathleen Rice from Friedman’s suit, a judge ruled. It alleged that the DA and two press officers falsely claimed that he had penned “horrific pornography” when behind bars.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “DA Will Reinvestigate Sex-Abuse Case Chronicled in Documentary”
New York Daily News: “Jesse Friedman gets court hearing to clear his name from notorious 1980s sex abuse case”
New York Times: “Son seeks to prove innocence”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Appeals court says only qualified privilege covered lawyer’s demand letter, but nixes libel case”
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