LAKEPORT, Calif. – A man sent to prison 18 years ago for molesting a child is expected to be released from state prison within a matter of weeks because it has been revealed that the key testimony used to convict him was fabricated.

District Attorney Don Anderson said he will file a writ of habeas corpus this week seeking the release of 71-year-old Luther Jones Jr., who is serving a 27-year sentence in state prison.

“We just learned a couple days ago that he's innocent,” Anderson said.

Key to that discovery, Anderson explained, was the recantation by the case's victim, now an adult who came forward to set the record straight.

In March 1998 Jones was convicted of molesting the 10-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend in a case first reported in August 1996, according to Anderson.

Jones had an extensive criminal history that included some felonies and theft cases, said Anderson, but none of those previous cases involved crimes of a sexual nature.

Based on his review of the nearly 20-year-old case, Anderson said the prosecution used the young girl's testimony as well as physical evidence.

Anderson said the girl underwent a physical exam and evidence of sexual contact was found.

“The evidence, I thought, was kind of sketchy,” Anderson said.

He said that Jones also testified on his own behalf.

Following the conviction, Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Jones, who filed appeals in the case. Anderson said the appellate court upheld the conviction.
                  
Recently, however, the victim in the case – now a 30-year-old woman – came forward to say that Jones had not molested her, Anderson said.

Anderson said the woman contacted his office. “It's been eating at her for a long time,” he said. “She wanted to make things right.”

What she told Anderson's staff is that she had straightened out her life and wanted the truth to be known – that she had been told to lie by her mother.

Before the molestation allegations arose, Jones and his ex-girlfriend had ended a custody fight over a younger child who they had together, Anderson said.

In retaliation, Anderson said the ex-girlfriend made her older child lie to authorities about Jones.

Adding to the tragedy of the case, the young girl really had been molested – which explained the physical evidence presented in court, Anderson said.

“As we find out now, she was actually being molested by her mother’s then-boyfriend,” Anderson said.

Anderson said his staff believes the woman. “Her story is very credible.”

He said he has been able to retrieve his office's files on the case, but there is a lot of information missing, including trial transcripts, which he hopes to find.

Due to the severity of the situation Anderson – who had been set to leave for a vacation this week – canceled his plans in order to be able to begin the process of getting Jones freed.

“This has to be done as quickly as possible,” said Anderson.

“On Tuesday I'll be filing a writ of habeas corpus on his behalf,” Anderson said, adding he hopes that Jones could be out of prison within a month. “We're going to do everything we can to expedite this.”

Anderson said his office is taking the lead on the matter and working closely with Angela Carter, who heads up the county's public defense contract, to try to get the matter resolved.

He said he plans to meet with a judge this week, but it's still to be determined which judge will be able to hear the case.

That's because it's likely that as many as three sitting Lake County Superior Court judges may have to recuse themselves due to conflicts, Anderson said.

He said Andrew Blum and Richard Martin were both deputy district attorneys in the Lake County District Attorney's Office at about the time when the case was filed during the late 1990s, and Stephen Hedstrom was then the district attorney.

Anderson said the process ahead will include seeking an order for Jones to be transferred from prison to Lake County for further proceedings.

Jones is in very poor health and had been up for a medical parole release that was denied, Anderson said.

A hearing for that proposed release had taken place Oct. 30, with another upcoming on March 4, according to the California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

Federal court documents show that Jones has filed suits complaining of the care he has received from prison officials for his numerous medical conditions, which include diabetes, issues with his liver and kidneys, hepatitis C and spinal deterioration.

In one of his handwritten filings, he said he was in prison “for a crime that I did not do, WHAT-SO-EVER, and I will continue to try and bring that to light as long as I live ...”

Jones hasn't yet been told of the situation, said Anderson.

As for what legal action may be taken against Jones' ex-girlfriend for forcing her older child to make the false allegations leading to the wrongful conviction, Anderson said that's yet to be determined.

He confirmed, however, that the woman no longer resides in Lake County.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.