MIAMI – Charges were dropped Wednesday against a man accused of kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman in Miami-Dade County.
Miguel Macias' record was also sealed in a rare, swift move by the court.
According to Macias' attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, recently released DNA results, as well as an alibi, have cleared his client in the case.
Macias was arrested March 13 and charged with two counts of sexual battery and kidnapping after a woman claimed she was driven to a remote location and raped twice.
Eiglarsh said his client professed his innocence during a taped police interrogation and volunteered a DNA sample to prove that the semen recovered from the victim was not his.
Eiglarsh claims prosecutor Cristina Cabrera filed charges solely based on the woman's claims that Macias, who she found on Facebook, was the person who raped her.
The judge and prosecutors apologized to Macias in court after he spent 42 days behind bars.
"We are very sorry that the man was in custody for the period of time that he was, but as soon as we found out, we did what we had to do and we released him," assistant state attorney Kathleen Hoague said. "This happens all the time, OK. This is not the first time this happened, and it won't be the last."
"If this happens frequently, then something needs to be done," Eiglarsh said. "I understand that mistakes occur, but they can do things differently. Don't file the charges when the evidence is so weak before confirming with the lab whether the DNA proves that my client did it or didn't do it."
The woman's case is still open, and police have not released the names of any possible suspects.
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