West Des Moines settles with man wrongfully jailed and charged for sex abuse

West Des Moines has paid $450,000 to a man who spent 11 days in jail charged for a sex abuse crime that he did not commit.

The city reached a settlement with Matthew Rodrigues, his fiancee, Anna Reynolds, and their twin 4-year-old daughters in August.

As part of the agreement, the city provided a statement that said Rodrigues was arrested "due to a case of mistaken identity."

Rodrigues was released from jail May 9 when new evidence showed he was not the assailant who pinned a woman to her bed April 29 at Motel 6 in West Des Moines and sexually assaulted her.

On the same day Rodrigues was released, Salvador Junior Pineda was arrested and charged with the crime.

MORE: Jailed 11 days, Iowan says he never should have been charged with sex abuse

Pineda pleaded guilty July 28 to third-degree burglary and assault with intent to commit sex abuse. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Rodrigues, who is of Portuguese descent, previously told the Register he believes he was arrested and held based on two factors: He was at the motel the night of the crime, and he has the same dark complexion as the attacker.

The police "thought, 'Oh, there’s a Mexican out front. I’m going to arrest him because that has to be him,'" Rodriques told the Register in June. "That’s what it came down to. They didn’t have no evidence."

The settlement releases West Des Moines, its police department and the officers involved in Rodrigues' arrest from further claims.

West Des Moines denies any wrongdoing.

The payment will come from the Iowa Community Assurance Pool, the city’s insurance provider. West Des Moines will pay a $10,000 deductible, according to a statement from city attorney Richard Scieszinski.