The Central Park Five have filed a lawsuit against former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump. The suit has been filed for defamation after Trump alleged that the exonerated quintet "pled guilty" to the assault and rape of Trisha Meili.
The group has filed a defamation suit against Trump for making "false and defamatory statements" during the presidential debate on ABC News with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Defendant Trump’s statements were false and defamatory in numerous respects. The plaintiffs never pled guilty to the Central Park assaults. Plaintiffs all pled not guilty and maintained their innocence throughout their trial and incarceration, as well as after they were released from prison," said the attorney for the quintet in the suit filed before a federal court in Philadelphia.
What Did Trump Say?
Since the 1980s, Trump has been vocal about the Central Park assault and rape case, which left New York in shock. At the time of the case, Donald Trump was a leading figure in the city's real estate field and as a celebrity.
During the case, Trump also issued a full-page ad across newspapers in New York which read “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
Trump's newspaper ad was brought up by Democratic candidate Kamala Harris during the presidential debate last month. Harris said - Let’s remember, this is the same individual who took out a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for the execution of five young Black and Latino boys who were innocent, the Central Park Five. He took out a full-page ad calling for their execution."
Trump stated in response - "They admitted, they said they pled guilty and I said, ’well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately ... And they pled guilty, then they pled not guilty."
Years after the release of the group, Trump has continued to allege that the five men were guilty of the crime and has stated at several occasions that the five men "admitted they were guilty".
In 2014, Trump also wrote an op-ed in the New York Daily News and stated that the city's settlement with the men was "a disgrace".
What Is The Central Park Five Case?
The Central Park Five refers to Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise. The five men, were arrested as teenagers in 1989 and wrongfully accused of raping and assaulting a white woman named Trisha Meili.
The five men were from the Black and Latino community and confessed to the crime due to the duress and pressure on them from police officials. Despite their wrongful conviction, all five men have maintained that they were not guilty and were forced to confess to the crime.
Over the years, the Central Park Five case stands as a key example of racial discrimination and profiling in the United States.
The group pleaded not guilty in court but were convicted and imprisoned after a jury trial. However, their convictions were vacated in 2002 after serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the crime and claimed he was the only actor involved in the Meili assault.
DNA evidence also confirmed his involvement and the group were freed.
