| Director | Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, Sarah Burns |
|---|---|
| Genre | crime film, documentary film |
| Country | United States |
| Box office | $273,747 |
The Central Park jogger case was the violent assault, rape, and sodomy of Trisha Meili, a female jogger, in New York City's Central Park, on April 19, 1989, as well as what were thought to be related attacks by a large group of youths on eight other persons in the park that night, including two that left victims unconscious.
The documentary provides background, interviews, expert analysis, and details of associated facts related to the case, prosecution and the conviction of the five suspects for the rape and also on charges related to assault of a male jogger. It documents the accounts of four of being coerced to confess to the rape; each withdrew such confessions before trial and always maintained his innocence.
The film also presents analysis to suggest that the police should have connected Matias Reyes to the case at the time that it happened. He was later found to have committed a rape in the park two days earlier. Convicted in 1990 as a serial rapist and murderer, Reyes confessed in 2001 to the crime against the female jogger to another inmate in prison and later to authorities. He said he had acted alone. A 2002 investigation by the DA's office found that DNA analysis identified him as the sole contributor of the semen found in and on the rape victim, and other evidence affirmed his confession and guilt. Based on the newly discovered evidence and its analysis of the prosecution, the DA's office recommended that the court vacate the convictions of the five men of all charges, which it did. The state withdrew all charges against the men.
In 2003, the Central Park Five, four of whom were younger than 16 and one of whom was 16 at the time of the crime, sued New York City for malicious prosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress. The city had resisted settling.
Ken Burns said he hoped release of the documentary would push the city to settle the case against it. The city settled the case for $41 million in 2014, after Bill de Blasio was elected as mayor.