Melanie Eversley

USA TODAY

The five men whose convictions were overturned in the Central Park Jogger case have won a settlement of $40 million, according to various news media.

The press office of Mayor Bill de Blasio said late Thursday it would have no comment, but the Facebook page for a documentary detailing the lives of the five men contained a one-word post: "Finally!"

The initial story was that a marauding band of youth in 1989 brutally beat and sexually assaulted a 28-year-old investment banker who liked to jog in the popular New York City park in the evenings. All five defendants, black and Hispanic men ages 14 to 16, were convicted in 1990 despite claims that authorities coerced them into making incriminating statements. They came to be known as the Central Park Five.

In 2002, a New York State Supreme Court judge vacated the young men's convictions after DNA evidence showed the crime had been committed by one man, a convicted rapist and murderer named Matias Reyes. One of the men spent 13 years in prison before his release and the others spent seven years. The settlement, as relayed to The New York Times by someone with knowledge of the agreement, roughly figures into $1 million for every year each plaintiff spent in prison.

The civil rights lawsuit accused the city's police and prosecutors with false arrest, malicious prosecution and racially motivated conspiracy, but the previous administration of Mayor Mike Bloomberg fought the suit, saying police and prosecutors acted in good faith. When Mayor de Blasio took office, he vowed to work toward a settlement.

The agreement would still need to be approved by the New York City comptroller and by a federal judge.

A 2012 documentary by father-and-daughter team Ken Burns and Sarah Burns titled The Central Park Five explored the lives of the five men.