Here in New York, a man who was forced to plead guilty to theft in connection to the Central Park jogger case has been exonerated. Steven Lopez was just 15 years old when he was arrested and wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting a white woman along with five other Black and Latinx teenagers, who became known as the Central Park Five. At the time, Lopez, whose story is far less known than the rest of the group, pleaded guilty to robbery in a separate attack in order to avoid a more serious rape charge. Lopez is now 48. He served about three years in prison before his release in the early 1990s. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Lopez’s exoneration Monday.

Alvin Bragg: “Many largely forgot that there were six who were falsely accused of rape of the Central Park jogger. Today, Mr. Lopez joined the other five who had their convictions vacated. What is so striking to me is how young Mr. Lopez was when both he was arrested and then when he pled guilty under extraordinary pressure.”