(WXYZ) — A man who spent 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit is now free.
Terance Calhoun, 35, was exonerated after a hearing Wednesday afternoon.
Judge Ramsey dropped all of his charges saying “all the charges are dismissed with prejudice.” DNA evidence proves he did not commit the 2006 sexual assault crimes in Detroit.
The family of 35-year-old Terance Calhoun expected him to come home Friday. Instead, the judge said his release had to wait because a Detroit Police Officer interrupted the hearing.
That officer approached the judge with a binder of information which the judge refused to read.
The officer said it would shed light on the case but prosecutors say it was old evidence that didn't prove anything.
In 2007, Terance Calhoun was accused of disturbing crimes against two young girls.
One was 13 and investigators say Calhoun raped her.
The other was 15 and Calhoun was accused of trying to sexually assault her. He pleaded no contest.
A judge determined his fate to be a minimum of 17 years in prison, but in 2019, prosecutors came out and said the DNA on the victim belonged to someone else.
In a statement, prosecutor Kym Worthy said, "we are currently prosecuting the defendant who is alleged to be the perpetrator of criminal sexual conduct crimes."
"There is no doubt that Mr. Calhoun is an innocent man. He's been exonerated by DNA evidence," assistant defender Michael Mittlestat said. "I can't believe an officer would just feel the freedom to march into a court and bring a proceeding into a halt like that."
According to the prosecutor's office, all of the evidence he presented was not new and was already part of the investigative file.
DPD released a statement saying the officer did not follow proper protocol.
