NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl has had his conviction overturned and will get a new trial.
An appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office intimidated a potential defense witness at Sergio Bognar’s trial.
The court says that prosecutors told the man that he would be prosecuted if his testimony was different from previous testimony and “inconsistent with the state’s theory of the case.” The witness did not end up testifying.
A spokesman for the prosecutor’s office declined to comment.
Bognar, of Sayreville, had been sentenced to 17 years in state prison in March 2015 after he was found guilty at trial of sexually assaulting a girl over seven years starting when she was 10.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.