Court: DA should reopen 'Capturing the Friedmans' case

A federal appeals court has recommended that Nassau prosecutors take a new look at the case of Jesse Friedman, the Great Neck man whose conviction on charges that he sexually abused several children with his father became fodder for an Academy Award-nominated film.

Even while upholding Friedman's 1988 conviction in a ruling released Monday, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said it hoped that Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice will undertake a "complete review" of the case.

In the decision, Judge Edward Korman wrote that the record in the case "suggests 'a reasonable likelihood' that Jesse Friedman was wrongfully convicted."

Rice spokeswoman Carole Trottere said Monday after the office learned of the decision: "We are reviewing the decision and will be giving the court's opinion serious thought and consideration."

Friedman, pleaded guilty 22 years ago to abusing several children as a teenager with his father, Arnold. Following the 2003 release of the documentary, "Capturing the Friedmans," Jesse Friedman, who was paroled in 2001, has been trying to clear his name. The film raises questions about investigators using improper hypnosis techniques to help witnesses recollect being abused by the Friedmans.

However, the court said it would not overturn Friedman's conviction because he filed his appeal too late. The law allowed Friedman one year after learning of the questionable investigative techniques to raise it as grounds for an appeal. Friedman allegedly learned about the hypnosis in January of 2003, when he saw the movie, but did not file an appeal until more than a year later.