Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

A man who has been behind bars for nearly 30 years for molesting two boys — an allegation his accusers later recanted — had his first taste of freedom today after a judge released him on bond.

Overjoyed family members of Bernard Young, 58, hugged and cried this morning in a Detroit courtroom as Young watched from prison on a video screen. Five hours later, he walked out of prison.

"We're happy, just overjoyed," said Young's sister, Joyce Holman of Detroit, with a beaming smile.

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Young was convicted in 1989 of multiple criminal sexual conduct charges and sentenced to 60 to 100 years in prison. His accusers, ages 5 and 6, told a therapist that Young, a neighbor, had molested them when he was babysitting.

But an attorney working recently on behalf of Young's family obtained documents that show that the boys, about a month after accusing Young, told a police sergeant that it was their mother's boyfriend who abused them — information that never made it to Young or his original attorney before the trial, according to court records.

"It exceeds all bounds of decency to not give a defendant information that he's entitled to. It's inexcusable," Young's new attorney, Solomon Radner, said. "This is the type of information that could have cast a serious doubt on the testimony that ultimately convicted him."

Following a series of hearings last fall, Wayne County Circuit Judge Qiana Lillard vacated Young's conviction and sentence and granted him a new trial.

In court today, Lillard agreed to release Young on a $5,000 personal bond. The decision drew applause and tears from the nearly two dozen family members in the courtroom.

The judge also rejected the prosecution's requests for a stay and to have Young fitted with a tether.

Young's legal team and family drove to Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater to pick him up. He was released just before 3 p.m.

"He was obviously completely thrilled," Radner said.

There's a chance Young's freedom could be short-lived. Assistant Wayne County prosecutor Abigail McIntyre asked for a new trial date. It was scheduled for this spring.

Maria Miller, spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, told the Free Press that the office plans to appeal. She declined to discuss details of the case.

A decades-long mission

Young's release grew out of efforts by Holman to prove his innocence. The case had many twists and turns, some that only came to light recently.

About five years ago, Holman contacted Claudia Whitman, who runs the Colorado-based nonprofit National Capital Crime Assistance Network, for help. Whitman began investigating a sexual assault case involving the boys' mother's boyfriend, a man named William Clark.

Two months after Young was sentenced in 1989 to 60 to 100 years in prison, Clark was accused of molesting the boys and charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct. Clark eventually pleaded guilty to reduced charges of child abuse and was sentenced to three years' probation.

The same assistant prosecutor, Kelly Ramsey, handled both Young's case and Clark's case. She eventually became a judge.

Whitman said she tracked down Young's two accusers, now adults. By this time, Clark had died.

"I said, 'What's the story on this?' and they both said, 'Bernard had nothing to do with it,'" Whitman said.

Whitman said both men signed affidavits saying that Clark was the real perpetrator, and that they pointed the finger at Young because they were afraid of Clark. Based on that, Radner asked for a new trial in May 2016.

Then, more information came to light — police reports from 1989 that showed about a month after the boys had accused Young, they told Detroit Police Sgt. Shelley Foy in an interview that Clark had molested them. The Michigan Innocence Clinic received the documents through a formal records request and forwarded them to Young's attorney.

During the hearings last fall, Ramsey testified that she did not remember whether she knew the boys had accused Clark before Young's trial, but she said if she had any indication the witnesses were lying, she would have alerted the defense. Foy also testified, saying the documents with the statements of the boys in which they accused Clark were not part of Young's file.

"Based on my understanding of the case, had the prosecutor had the information prior to Mr. Young's trial, she would have produced it. I believe police withheld this information," Radner said.

A spokesperson for the Detroit Police Department did not return messages seeking comment.

One of Young's accusers also testified last fall and asserted that he falsely accused Young because he was afraid of Clark.

Young always maintained his innocence. At trial, he said he never babysat the boys, had never touched them inappropriately and had already moved away from his house on the boys' street during the period of the alleged crimes.

Lillard noted in her opinion last week that Young is not necessarily innocent, but also that prosecutor had a duty to learn about the other evidence and disclose it to the defense.

Lillard also mentioned the various twists in the case, including evidence that Young's accuser who recently testified had been bribed by Young's sister — accusations Young's attorney denies.

After the hearing today, the celebration spilled out of the courtroom into a hallway, where relatives cried, laughed and hugged.

"I'm going to hug him like a bear," Young's brother, Baxter Young of Detroit said, smiling. "That's my brother. I'm going to kiss him and hug him and all that, baby. The Lord is good."

Radner said when Young left prison today, guards and even other inmates were rooting him on.

"It's the kind of scene lawyers dream about," he said.

Contact Ann Zaniewski at 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AnnZaniewski.