The wrongful conviction of five Black and Latino teenagers for a 1989 rape exposed systemic racial bias in policing and prosecution, resulting in a $41 million settlement.
Key Facts
- Date of Attack
- April 19, 1989
- Defendants Convicted
- Five teenagers (the Central Park Five)
- Sentences Served
- 7 to 13 years
- Convictions Vacated
- 2002, after Matias Reyes confessed
- City Settlement
- 41 million USD (2014) USD
- Lopez Conviction Vacated
- July 2022
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In the late 1980s, New York City was experiencing peak crime rates driven by the crack epidemic. On the night of April 19, 1989, dozens of teenagers entered Central Park, and multiple muggings and assaults were reported. Police, under intense public pressure, pursued tunnel vision investigations focused on a group of young suspects.
Trisha Meili was assaulted and raped while jogging in Central Park. Six teenagers were indicted; five—Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise—were convicted despite the absence of DNA evidence linking them. In 2002, serial rapist Matias Reyes confessed to the attack, with DNA confirming he acted alone.
The convictions of the Central Park Five were vacated in 2002. The case became a landmark example of racial profiling and prosecutorial misconduct. The five men sued New York City and received a $41 million settlement in 2014. The real perpetrator, Reyes, had continued committing violent crimes while the wrongly convicted served their sentences.