Man Exonerated in 1981 Rape Files $50M Suit Against New York

The man who served 16 years in prison for the 1981 rape of author Alice Sebold and was exonerated last year filed a lawsuit Friday against New York state for $50 million over his wrongful conviction.

Anthony Broadwater, 61, was cleared in November of his conviction for the rape, which took place when Sebold was a student at Syracuse University.

Prosecutors determined after a reexamination of the case that there were serious flaws in the man’s arrest and trial.

According to the lawsuit, Broadwater “always maintained his innocence — from the investigation, through trial and on appeal, while incarcerated, after his release, and up to today.”

The lawsuit went on to say, “He dutifully sought to overturn his conviction on at least five occasions in the decades following his conviction.”

An email seeking comment was sent to the state attorney general’s office.

Sebold wrote about the rape in her 1999 memoir, “Lucky.”

Some months after the attack, Sebold didn’t pick Broadwater out of a police lineup, but authorities put him on trial anyway, and she identified him as her rapist on the stand.

Shortly after Broadwater’s exoneration, Sebold issued a statement publicly apologizing to him.