By Christopher Zoukis

A man who was wrongfully convicted of rape and attempted armed robbery agreed in August 2013 to accept $6.375 million to settle his claim that he was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for over a decade.

Larry Gillard was convicted of the heinous crimes in 1982. DNA testing later established that he was innocent, and he was granted a Certificate of Innocence on August 27, 2009. After spending more than a decade as a wrongfully incarcerated rapist, he sued the City of Chicago and several police officers and forensic technicians for violation of his civil rights.

Gillard alleged that Detective Richard Cauble and forensic tech Christine Sahs (formerly Kokocinski) conspired to frame him for the crimes. He suggested that those defendants, as well as other unknown employees of the City of Chicago, manipulated witnesses, skewed the scientific evidence and used an improper and suggestive lineup. Gillard further claimed that Sahs and other forensic techs knew of available testing that would have cleared him, but never performed or disclosed the testing.

Gillard argued that those actions amounted to an unconstitutional denial of his right to a fair trial. He also made claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, respondeat superior and indemnification.

The parties reached a settlement on August 7, 2013. The City agreed to pay Gillard $6.375 million, and the City Council Finance Committee approved the award.

See: Gillard v. City of Chicago, et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 1:10-cv-07606 (August 7, 2013).

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