LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles County man who spent nearly three decades in prison for kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery convictions before DNA testing revealed he was innocent of the crimes filed suit Thursday against the cities of South Gate and Huntington Park for wrongful conviction and imprisonment.
In January 1995, a man and woman were robbed at gunpoint by two men who also sexually assaulted the woman. Days later, Gerardo Cabanillas, then an 18-year-old newlywed, was arrested because he generally matched the description of one of the suspects, according to the civil rights lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Despite no physical evidence connecting Cabanillas to the crime, he was charged with 14 felony counts. Although insisting he was innocent throughout the ensuing trial, Cabanillas was ultimately convicted and handed a sentence of 87 years in state prison….