Potterville man cleared in rape, suing Charlotte and Eaton County officials | Lansing State Journal | lansingstatejournal.com

Potterville man cleared in rape, suing Charlotte and Eaton County officials | Lansing State Journal | lansingstatejournal.com


(click link)


"x x x.

GRAND RAPIDS - A Potterville man who was cleared of rape charges is suing Charlotte police and an Eaton County assistant prosecutor who charged him.

Charles Pettigrew said he was kept behind bars even though his DNA didn't match the evidence.

Filed Sept. 21
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 21 in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, alleges gross negligence and false imprisonment against Det. James Beal and Officer Fred Koning of the Charlotte Police Department; Kelly Morton, an assistant Eaton County prosecutor; the city of Charlotte and Eaton County.

Pettigrew is seeking $100,000 plus costs from each of the defendants, contending in the complaint he has experienced "pain, suffering, humiliation, distress and loss of earning capacity."

The civil suit stems from a criminal case against Pettigrew, who was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in December 2010, the complaint states. He was held in the Eaton County Jail.

x x x."