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Brooklyn DA Drops Charges Against School Janitor

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Mar 23, 2007 7:02 pm US/Eastern

Brooklyn DA Drops Charges Against School Janitor

by Pablo Guzmán
BROOKLYN (CBS) ― All charges were dropped Friday against a 58-year-old janitor arrested in the rape and sexual assault of an eight-year-old female student at a Brooklyn school where he worked for 19 years.

The Brooklyn District Attorney's office confirmed the dismissal to CBS 2's Pablo Guzman.

Francis Evelyn, who was accused of raping the child multiple times since Feb. 1 in the basement of P.S. 91 in the Wingate section of Brooklyn, was released on his own recognizance Wednesday.

Mr. Evelyn's ordeal included several long hours at Riker's Island.

Investigators said they had become wary of the victim's story. The Brooklyn D.A. came to believe the 8-year-old girl made up the story against the janitor.

Many who know Evelyn are furious. "This is impossible," said neighbor Lorna Elliott. "He's not that stupid, that's just crazy."

"I'm just upset with the whole system!" said Joan, a family friend.

Investigators have apparently grown increasingly uncomfortable with Evelyn's arrest due to inconsistencies in the girl's story. CBS 2 learned Tuesday that the school's principal had been reassigned after not reporting a similar incident reported by the same victim, however with a different suspect.

"He seems to be a very honest, loving respectable man," said another neighbor. "So when I saw it on the news I was very devastated. This cannot be."

A source close to the investigation said that the reassignment of the school's principal is a matter between the principal and the education department, but it is not a part of the criminal case.

Evelyn, who lives with his wife and daughter, was charged with rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

The Department of Education said Evelyn has been employed since 1988 without incident. He was suspended without pay following his arrest.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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