A settlement between the City of Rochester and a man who was wrongfully charged and convicted of rape 40 years ago is on its way to City Council for approval.
Mayor Lovely Warren says the city has agreed on a payment of more than $6.9 million to Freddie Peacock. He was convicted of rape in 1976, served six years in prison and spent 10 years on parole. But supporters who believed he was innocent got the evidence subjected to DNA testing in 2010, something not known when Peacock was arrested, and it proved conclusively that he could not have been the rapist.
Freddie Peacock sued the city in 2013. A federal court judge ordered the lawyers for both sides to work out an agreement. They settled with the court’s approval on $6.9 million. Now only City Council approval is needed.