Kern to pay $5M settlement to 'Witch Hunt' man

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By Eyewitness News

Summary

Kern County leaders have agreed to pay a man $5 million after he was wrongly sent to prison for 20 years. John Stoll was convicted in the 1980s on molestation charges that were eventually overturned. The board of supervisors voted to settle a lawsuit filed by Stoll.

Story Created: Sep 15, 2009 at 3:58 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 15, 2009 at 5:16 PM PDT

Kern to pay $5M settlement to 'Witch Hunt' man

John Stoll is seen in this prison photo from October 1985. The photo was taken from the Web site for "Witch Hunt," a documentary that told the story of Stoll's wrongful conviction.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Kern County leaders have agreed to pay a man $5 million after he was wrongly sent to prison for 20 years.

John Stoll was convicted in the 1980s on molestation charges that were eventually overturned. He was featured last year in the documentary "Witch Hunt," which told the story of a string of child molestation cases during the '80s that sent 34 Bakersfield residents to prison.

Every conviction was ultimately overturned, including Stoll's, as witnesses recanted testimony and Kern County prosecutors were accused of using coercive techniques to get children to testify against their own parents.

County spokesman Allan Krauter said Tuesday that the board of supervisors voted to settle a lawsuit filed by Stoll.