California man's 378-year sentence overturned after judge rules accuser may have made up charges
Ajay Dev, 58, was released May 23 after 16 years in prison for 76 convictions of sexual assault on a minor and related charges, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Janene Beronio scheduled a hearing for June 13 for Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig to decide whether to retry Dev. Prosecutors could also appeal the ruling. Reisig's office declined to comment on the case Wednesday.
Dev, an immigrant from Nepal who worked as a water engineer, was visiting the South Asian nation with his wife in 1998 when they decided to adopt 15-year-old Sapna Dev, part of their extended family, and bring her to live with them in Davis, California.
In early 2004, Sapna Dev's boyfriend broke up with her, and she accused Ajay Dev of causing the breakup, Beronio said in her ruling. Later she told police that Ajay Dev had had sex with her two or three times a week for three or four years until she moved out of his home, the judge said.
Four witnesses who had not been contacted by Dev's trial lawyers testified at a recent hearing that Sapna Dev had told them that her accusations against him were lies or were motivated by her anger at him, the Chronicle reported.
One of the witnesses said Sapna Dev told him she made the accusations because she 'was determined to return to the United States and needed to use the criminal charges to do that,' Beronio said.
An attorney for Sapna Dev could not be located Wednesday.
The judge's decision 'dismantles the DA's case," said Patricia Pursell, a member of advocacy group that has held demonstrations in support of Dev.
'We have known from the beginning that Ajay Dev was wrongfully convicted,' she told the Chronicle. "Judge Beronio was the first judge to really look closely at the evidence and read every document.'
Jennifer Mouzis, who represented Ajay Dev in his appeal, filed a habeas corpus petition seeking to free him in 2018. Mouzis said much of the prosecution's evidence was based on racial and ethnic bias that would be illegal today under California's Racial Justice Act, a 2021 law barring testimony that appeals to prejudice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
Girls at Christian summer camp missing after ‘catastrophic' Texas floods
Young girls at a Christian summer camp are missing after their cabins were apparently washed away by 'catastrophic' and fatal flooding in Texas, according to a report. An undisclosed number of children are unaccounted for at Camp Mystic alongside the Guadalupe River in Hunt, a suburb of San Antonio, two camp directors told The Austin American-Statesman. Water rises from severe flooding along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas on Friday, July 4, 2025. AP Advertisement The staff was in need of urgent air assistance after their roads were washed out by the severe flooding, which also apparently flooded some cabins and washed others away. Camp Mystic is a Christian sleep-away summer camp for girls in Hunt. At least six people in Hill County have been killed in the floods.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Europe's human rights watchdog concerned over use of force against Serbia anti-corruption protesters
Serbian riot police officers guard intersection after remove street blockades that was set up as part of a protest after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, July 4, 2025. Darko Vojinovic/AP Serbian riot police officers guard intersection after remove street blockades that was set up as part of a protest after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, July 4, 2025. Darko Vojinovic/AP Serbian riot police officers guard intersection after remove street blockades that was set up as part of a protest after a massive rally demanding an early parliamentary election in Belgrade, Serbia, Friday, July 4, 2025. Darko Vojinovic/AP BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Europe's human rights watchdog Friday expressed concern that Serbian authorities were using excessive force and arbitrary detentions to break up street protests against the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic. Michael O'Flaherty, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that 'freedom of assembly and freedom of expression are key human rights enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and it is Serbia's duty to guarantee them." 'I am concerned about the current human rights situation in Serbia, where, despite the assurances I received from the authorities during my visit in April, excessive use of force is being applied to curb demonstrations,' O'Flaherty said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Serbian riot police have detained scores of demonstrators since a massive rally last weekend, including university students, their professors and others who have been blocking traffic throughout the country demanding an early parliamentary election. Tensions have soared since the rally Saturday by tens of thousands of people in Belgrade which ended with clashes between riot police and groups of protesters. Monthslong demonstrations previously had been largely calm. Police also intervened Friday to clear traffic blockades in Belgrade, briefly detaining a number of protesters. University students behind the protests have said police have injured many peaceful demonstrators in the past days. Witnesses told local media that riot police beat up protesters with batons and shields and that four students were hospitalized early Thursday, including one with a broken clavicle. Police have denied the use of excessive force, warning that traffic blockades are illegal. Vucic has described ongoing protests as 'terror' and an attempt to bring down the state. Advertisement Article continues below this ad O'Flaherty's statement said 'increased levels of the use of force by the police as well as arbitrary arrests and detention have occurred during the week.' 'I am particularly concerned about the arrest of children, as well as the number of students being charged for criminal offenses or hospitalized for the treatment of injuries,' O'Flaherty said in a statement. He added that 'mischaracterization of this largely peaceful student-led movement should be avoided at all costs.' Both the EU mission in Serbia and the United Nations Human Rights Office said Thursday they were watching the situation closely and urged restraint. Persistent protests that have rattled Vucic first started in November after a renovated train station canopy collapsed in Serbia's north killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blame the tragedy on alleged corruption-fueled negligence in state infrastructure projects. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Critics say Vucic has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power over a decade ago, stifling democratic freedoms while allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish, which he has denied. Serbia is formally seeking entry to the European Union, but Vucic's government has nourished relations with Russia and China.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
UN experts say Rwanda supported rebels in Congo and smuggled minerals at ‘unprecedented levels'
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Rwanda provided 'critical' support to the M23 rebels' recent offensive in eastern Congo, which helped secure Kigali's access to minerals and fertile ground, according to a confidential United Nations report seen by The Associated Press. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group is the most prominent armed group in the conflict in Eastern Congo, which has been in and out of crises for decades. The rebels earlier this year advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma and Bukavu in a major escalation of the conflict. Rwanda has denied any involvement. But U.N. experts say Kigali provided backing to the rebels with an aim to 'control the territory of the DRC and its natural resources,' using 'advanced military equipment, including jamming systems, short-range air defense system and armed drones.' Rwanda has been accused of exploiting eastern Congo's minerals, used in smartphones, advanced fighter jets and much more, which Kigali denies. The report said that smuggling of coltan, considered a critical mineral, from M23-controlled territories in recent months reached 'unprecedented levels.' 'Evidence indicated increasing risk of cross-border fraud as minerals from North Kivu, particularly coltan from the AFC-controlled Rubaya mine, continued to be smuggled to Rwanda.' the report said. 'These minerals were then mixed with production of Rwandan origin and exported downstream.' AFC, or Congo River Alliance, is an umbrella groups which includes M23. The M23-controlled Rubaya mines produce coltan — short for columbite-tantalite — an ore from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted. Both are considered critical raw materials by the United States, the European Union, China and Japan. Tantalum is used in mobile phones, computers and automotive electronics, as well as in aircraft engines, missile components and GPS systems. Niobium is used in pipelines, rockets and jet engines. Congo produced about 40% of the world's coltan in 2023, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, with Australia, Canada and Brazil being other major suppliers. Part of the minerals smuggled to Rwanda were purchased by Boss Mining Solution Limited, a Rwandan company. To justify the plausibility of domestic origins of tantalum, tin and tungsten, the Rwandan Development Board declared annual domestic production of 8,000 to 9,000 tons of these minerals, the report said. The figure was contradicted by the National Institute of Statistics, independent geological studies and ITSCI. Late last month, Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal facilitated by the U.S. while helping the U.S. government and American companies gain access to critical minerals in the region. But experts said they don't believe it will quickly end the fighting because the most prominent armed group says it does not apply to it. Rwanda denied the allegations from the U.N. report. Alluding to the U.N. report, Rwanda's president Paul Kagame told reporters on Friday:'The expertise they provide, the reports they write actually do not have anything to do with the situation itself. These reports were written long ago — long ago when they were given the mission.' A spokesperson for Rwanda's government, Yolande Makolo, wrote on X that 'Following the signing of the US-brokered Peace Agreement last Friday, Rwanda is fully committed to its implementation.' The report, which was first reported by Reuters, was submitted to the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee for Congo earlier this week, and will be published shortly, said a U.N. official who was not authorized to speak on the matter publicly. Despite Congo's exceptional mineral wealth, over 70% of Congolese live on less than $2.15 a day. The conflict in the country's east has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises with more than 7 million people displaced, including 100,000 who fled homes this year. The U.N. report also accused all sides in the conflict of human rights violations, including reprisal killings on suspicion of collaboration of the opposing sides. Rwanda and M23 are responsible for 'systematic campaign of repression in occupied areas, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrest, torture, enforced disappearance and raids in hospitals,' it said. Retreating Congolese soldiers and members of the pro-government militia 'committed looting, sexual violence and killings.' ___ Associated Press writers Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal and Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda, contributed to this report.
