California: Rape charges thrown out, but cell doors stayed shut

Two men exonerated in what was first thought to be a gang rape case remained in a Sacramento County jail for 21 days after charges were dropped, until another hearing this week decided their fate. Cousins Sarn Saechao, 25, and Chiem Saechao, 21, appeared before a state parole board Wednesday about a string of alleged parole violations tied to the criminal rape case dismissed last month.

Why it took three weeks for the case against the Saechaos to be resolved highlights a growing debate between the interest of justice and the interest of public safety, according to attorneys involved in the case and legal experts. "This does seem to conflict with our broad sense of justice," said professor Jennifer Chacon, at UC Davis School of Law. But, given the severity of the allegations, authorities will err on the side of caution with inmates who have criminal histories. "The inmate could have violated parole even though they may not have been guilty," said Tip Kindel, spokesman for the state parole board. "One has to do with reasonable doubt; the other has to do with preponderance of evidence."

Shortly after their arrests in February, the Saechaos were charged with a handful of parole violations along with nearly 12 felony counts associated with the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman in Tahoe Park. Both have prison records - Sarn Saechao for drugs and Chiem Saechao for burglary. The parole violations, intended to keep them in custody before trial, were based on the rape charges: Chiem Saechao's alleged violations included conspiracy to commit sexual assault, rape with force or fear, and forced oral copulation; Sarn Saechao was similarly charged, but he also faced a parole violation for not reporting to his parole officer, according to the state parole board.

At the time, Sacramento police called the case "one of the most brutal" assaults in recent memory. But on March 22, prosecutors unilaterally dropped charges against the Saechaos. Video footage had surfaced showing the woman agreeing to participate in what appeared to be pornography. Both men were pleased that the case was thrown out, but those feelings turned to confusion, their lawyers said, when they were not released from jail.

The state Board of Parole decided to pursue the alleged violations, with the parole hearing held Wednesday. The decision also confused Saechaos' defense attorneys. "It's very surprising to me that the District Attorney's Office would deem someone factually innocent of the crimes ... yet, the parole board is deeming it (fit) to move forward on the underlying charges," said Paul Irish, who represented Sarn Saechao in the rape case. "It just doesn't seem fair." Chiem Saechao's defense attorney, David Lynch, said he grew increasingly frustrated that his client, an innocent man, was caught in a legal Catch-22. "My position is, that may work well for 99.9 percent of cases that are dismissed because of insufficient evidence or ambiguities," Lynch said of parole officials' move to keep his client locked up. "But, this is the type of case where they should, at least, (have been) released."

UC Davis law professor Floyd Feeney said it's not unusual for authorities to keep inmates in custody if they believe some aspect of the criminal case was true but lacked the evidence to prove the charge. A 1974 state appeals case allowed authorities to level parole violations against an inmate based on dropped charges. Subsequent rulings have supported the practice in cases where evidence showed a defendant's guilt but the criminal case was dropped, Chacon said. But in the Saechao case, where the victim recanted the allegations, Chacon said she was not convinced it was sound for the parole board to keep the men behind bars. "This is an example," she said, "why we may want to be careful in how broadly this legal principle is applied."

At Wednesday's parole hearing, all of the sexual misconduct charges were dismissed, Kindel said, and Chiem Saechao was released from the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove. With Sarn Saechao, officials found that he failed to report to his parole officer. He was sent to Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy to serve a nine-month term. During his first full day of freedom Thursday, Chiem Saechao slowly settled in, cupping a bowl of steamed noodles for lunch. He hadn't told his family, yet, about his experiences in jail, but the past three weeks was enough of an ordeal. "It didn't make any sense," he said.

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