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Convicted Paedophile Released From 300-Year Sentence On Technicality

Convicted Paedophile Released From 300-Year Sentence On Technicality

A district attorney has spoken out to say he is 'appalled' by the decision

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A convicted paedophile who was sentenced to over 300 years for a series of violent sexual crimes against children has been freed from prison on a technicality.

Michael Tracy McFadden, 46, was released from the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility on Tuesday after an appeal court found that his trial in 2015 had been 'delayed beyond statutory requirements' and the conviction was quashed.

He cannot be retired on the charges of sexually molesting six young boys and girls, the court ruled.

Colorado Dept. of Corrections

The court found that there was 'no question that the defendant did not expressly waive his right to a speedy trial' and that it was in breach of Colorado's 'speedy-trial' requirements.

Mesa County district attorney Dan Rubinstein told the Daily Sentinel the decision was 'frustrating', adding that it left the state 'without remedy'.

He said: "I am appalled that our justice system, in which a jury of the defendant's peers, which the defendant helped choose, unanimously found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of sexually offending against six innocent victims, yet the Court of Appeals vacated the convictions after finding that the trial court's efforts to protect the defendant's constitutional rights to a fair trial violate an arbitrary statutory right that the defendant had waived on two prior occasions."

As well as gaining his freedom, it was initially reported that, as his convictions were vacated, he would not have to register as a sex offender. A prior conviction for sexual assault on a child happened before it was a legal requirement for sex offenders to publicly register.

Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility.
Google Street View

However, in an update on Facebook, DA Rubinstein wrote: "While it is of little comfort to the underlying injustice of the McFadden situation, I have been working closely with the Grand Junction Police Department to address the public's safety in the wake of his release.

"Through heads up research of the sex offender registration unit at the GJPD, specifically Detecive Brian Frasier, they have determined that the violations of Mr. McFadden's prior sexual assault on child sentence (from 1990) extended the date when he was released long enough to get him under our current registration statute. He is required to register as a sex offender for his prior offense for the remainder of his life."

Prosecutor David Waite said McFadden had befriended people with young children, and then put himself in a situation where he was able to 'heavily groom' the youngsters.

After being found guilty at his original trial, McFadden would not have been eligible for parole until 12 February 2331.

Source: Daily Sentinel; KKTV

Featured Image Credit: Credit: Colorado Dept. of Corrections

Topics: US News