What would you do if you had an $80,000 a year city job, a happy family, and a reputable name in the city, but had it all taken away over a false charge? I don't know about you, but I would be pretty pissed off and I'd be going right after the city for screwing up my life!
That's what happened to Andrew McFall! The poor guy lost his city job as a youth program director and the respect of his friends and neighbors when he was charged with flashing an 11-year-old girl in January, which yes, is absolutely disgusting! If he did it! The problem here is that this past Thursday, Manhattan prosecutors dropped the charges because after finally investigating the case, they realized they had the wrong guy! McFall says that he's pleased with the outcome, but he's been through five months of hell with his life and his family that he can't get back.
McFall was accused of masturbating in front of a girl in Harlem as she walked to her elementary school on West 120th Street in December 2011. A security camera caught a suspect walking away in a tan overcoat. Working off a tip, cops zeroed in on McFall, the director of the city's Youth Connect program, who also holds a master's degree from Columbia University. He was arrested a month later at his apartment in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. When McFall was brought into the 20th Precinct stationhouse, detectives showed him a still photo from the security video and automatically said, "This is you!" That is ridiculous! Some detective work!
McFall recalls being placed in a lineup with six other men who were all black and bald like him. The victim picked him and another man as the suspect, but the young girl settled on the other man, who McFall's attorney later said was a detective standing in as a filler. McFall's ex-girlfriend also confirmed to the cops that the man in the photo was him. So much for standing by your man, huh? He was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor and public lewdness. A week later he was fired from his job, which devastated him financially because he lost wages, had to find a new job, and had attorney fees.
Personally, I feel that the city owes this poor guy! They even looked up his MetroCard records, which showed he was nowhere near the scene of the crime and should never have been charged in the first place! If NYC detectives actually did their jobs, they might've been able to save themselves from embarrassment as well as a man's reputable reputation. The city's Department of Youth and Community Development said that McFall would not be reinstated to his job and declined to comment further on their decision. This is so absurd and I feel bad for this poor guy! Some guys deserve to be punished like this, but a stand up and educated man like McFall did not deserve this and the city needs to make this right!
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