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| Wednesday, Dec 19 2007 9:20 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Dec 20 2007 8:39 AM
A man who was wrongfully convicted of child molestation charges reached a settlement agreement with Kern County on Monday, according to court records.
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Howard Lee Weimer
Howard Lee Weimer and his wife, Thelma, talk about being wrongly convicted of child molestation and how he spent 10 years in prison in their home in this file photo.
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Howard Lee Weimer, 84, received $355,000, he said Wednesday. Of that amount, he expects he might see about $80,000, after his attorneys are paid.
"I was glad I got it. I was looking for a lot more, but they just kept dragging it along," Weimer said.
A foster parent, Weimer was convicted of child molestation in 1985 and in prison until 1997 after a federal judge recommended his conviction be overturned. Charges were thrown out in 2005, according to Californian archives.
U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger ruled Weimer's due process rights were violated because of ineffective defense counsel, unreliable witnesses and overzealous prosecutors, archive reports show.
Weimer filed a suit against the county alleging investigators used "coercive and abusive techniques" to cajole, manipulate and pressure two former foster daughters to make false statements that implicated Weimer, according to court documents.
He said Wednesday he doesn't have hard feelings about the case and wants to let bygones be bygones.
County Counsel Bernard Barmann referred questions about the case to Mark Nations, chief deputy counsel. Attempts to reach Nations Wednesday evening weren't successful.