In a 4-2 opinion, the New York Court of Appeals found that the "substantial delays" in the investigation and the four years it took prosecutors to indict Andrew Regan violated his constitutional right to prompt prosecution.
A jury convicted Andrew Regan of first-degree rape in 2015, and he was sentenced to 12 years in prison. That sentence has now been commuted, the conviction overturned, and Regan's record expunged.
In a 4-2 opinion obtained by Inside Edition Digital, the New York Court of Appeals found that the "substantial delays" in the investigation and the four years it took prosecutors to indict Regan violated his constitutional right to prompt prosecution.
Regan denies raping the victim, initially telling police the two did not have "sexual intercourse."
He would later claim the two had consensual intercourse after investigators matched his DNA with the sperm found in the victim's underwear and the swabs collected for her rape kit.
Regan had been dating the best friend of the victim, A.L., at the time of the alleged assault.
A.L. told police that after a wedding on Aug. 8, 2009, she and her boyfriend invited the couple to spend the night at her home so that they would not have to drive that night.
Once back at her home, A.L. said goodnight to her boyfriend and went to bed alone.
A.L. then woke up to Regan raping her in her bed, she told police.
"She woke up suddenly unable to breathe with a crushing weight bearing down on her body. She saw defendant’s face above her own, felt his stomach touching hers, and then felt him roll off of her body," the victim told authorities. "A.L. put her hands between her legs and felt something wet, her vagina swollen, and her underwear pushed off to the side."
A.L. then got dressed, told her boyfriend she had been raped, called her parents, spoke with police and reported to the hospital "where a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) completed a sexual assault examination and rape kit."
This was then followed by “inexplicable delays caused by lethargy or ignorance of basic prosecutorial procedures,” writes Judge Rowan D. Wilson in his majority opinion.
NEW YORK COURT OF APPEALS OPINION OVERTURNING ANDREW REGAN'S RAPE CONVICTION
A timeline of the investigation according to court filings reviewed by Inside Edition Digital follows:
- Aug. 8, 2009: A.L. tells police that she has been raped by Andrew Regan. She and her boyfriend provide DNA samples to police.
- Aug. 9, 2009: In an interview with police, Regan "[denies] having sexual intercourse with A.L., but [tells] police that he [wishes] he had." He refuses to provide a DNA sample.
- Jan. 10, 2010: An investigator receives "a laboratory report indicating a positive presence for sperm on A.L.’s underwear."
- April 5, 2010: An investigator receives a "supplemental report reflecting that DNA recovered from the swabs comprised a mixture which included DNA from [A.L.'s boyfriend] and DNA from an unknown male."
- April 6, 2010: An investigator reaches out to Regan's attorney to ask if he will voluntarily provide a DNA sample.
- Nov. 2010: Prosecutors speak with the New York Prosecutor’s Training Institute about how to obtain a DNA sample from Regan.
- June 2012: The district attorney's office contacts Regan's attorney again about getting a DNA sample or setting up a meeting with defendant and investigators.
- Oct. 18, 2012: The district attorney and investigator make the decision to seek a search warrant requiring Regan to provide them with a DNA sample.
- Nov. 9, 2012: The warrant is signed by a judge and a DNA sample is collected that same day and sent to state police lab for testing.
- Feb. 4, 2013: An investigator receives a "supplemental report indicating that [Regan's] DNA matches the sperm found on A.L.’s underwear and swabs."
- Feb. 12, 2013: Regan is arrested and arraigned.
- Aug. 15, 2013: The case is presented to a grand jury.
- Aug. 2, 2013: A grand jury indicts Regan on a single count of first-degree rape.
- Feb. 23, 2015: Regan is convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Once the DNA evidence had come back and the case headed to trial, Regan amended his story according to the opinion, and said that he and the victim did have sex but it had been consensual.
"Vacating any conviction on prompt prosecution grounds runs a genuine risk that a guilty person will not be punished, or, as in this case, not finish out his full sentence," Wilson writes for the majority. "However, vital societal interests can overcome that cost."
He goes on to admonish prosecutors for not just the delay in charging Regan but the fact that there was no reason provided for these delays.
"The problem here is not simply the expanse of time between when the crime occurred and when defendant was charged, but the complete failure of the People to proffer any excuse which even colorably justifies that delay," Wilson writes. "Our constitution allows for modest unexcused delays; it allows for lengthy justifiable delays. But it does not allow for lengthy unexplained or, as here, inexplicable delays caused by lethargy or ignorance of basic prosecutorial procedures."
In her dissent, Judge Madeline Singas writes that this decision will potentially "be weaponized against victims moving forward.
"If law enforcement negligently delays rape investigations, women’s voices will continue to be stifled, rapists held unaccountable and jury verdicts discarded," she writes.
A Search of criminal cases in the state of New York and all past and present individuals incarcerated by the state returns no results for an "Andrew Regan."
Regan's attorney and the St. Lawrence County District Attorney's office did not respond to Inside Edition Digital's requests for comment.
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