Countdown to Wrongful Conviction Day: Friday, October 2, 2105; 6 days. For information: http://www.aidwyc.org/wcd-2015/
"The prosecutor overseeing the sexual assault investigation of
Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane says the accuser's mother lied
about finding an evidence bag in her doorway. Erie County (N.Y.) District Attorney Frank Sedita said during a news
conference Friday in Buffalo he's not sure yet how the two-day sideshow
of how evidence was handled affects the main case. Sedita said all the
evidence, including the rape kit used to examine the accuser, was
handled properly and is still in custody of authorities. "Obviously there has been an effort to create a hoax," Sedita said.
"I gotta figure out who was in on that, why they would do that and what
it means vis-a-vis all the other evidence." Sedita said the mother was given the bag at a hospital when her
daughter was examined, but it never contained a rape kit. The examining
nurse gave the mother the bag after learning the accuser changed her top
before going to the hospital, Sedita said. The mother was to put the
top in the bag and turn it into authorities, but never did, Sedita said. The mother did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment Friday. Questions about the bag were raised publicly Wednesday by the
accuser's former attorney, who abruptly quit the case Thursday night and
said he no longer believed the story about how the folded up paper bag —
which he'd said had once held the rape kit — was found. ...The criminal investigation into the sexual assault allegation against
Kane continues, Sedita said, adding that it could be affected if
investigators determine the accuser was aware of the alleged hoax. Otherwise, "the child is usually not guilty of the sins perpetrated by the parents," he said. At one point earlier this month, prosecutors were scheduled to
present the case to a grand jury but postponed the proceedings, a person
familiar with the investigation told to The Associated Press. The
person did not provide a reason for the postponement, and spoke on
condition of anonymity because Sedita and Hamburg police had not
revealed any details of the case. On Friday, when asked when a grand jury might hear the case, Sedita
responded: "The question in my mind is not when this case will go to a
grand jury, it's if it will go to a grand jury." Kane's attorney, Paul Cambria, has said that none of Kane's DNA was found on the woman "from the waist down."
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/eoannou-lawyer-for-kane-accuser-quits-case-1.3243617