Convicted child molester freed after victim calls him innocent

(WJBK) - A man imprisoned for 28 years for molesting children then freed when victims said he didn't do it may face a retrial.

"When I woke up, I was looking around like OK. It's a miracle," Bernard Young said.

While Young was locked away in prison, he missed 28 years worth of birthdays, anniversaries and milestones of his five kids and six grandchildren.

All that was washed away however when the victim wrote to the judge saying they convicted the wrong guy.

"You would think in a rape case that when a victim comes forward and says that's the wrong man, you would think he would be freed the next day.That doesn't happen," said Solomon Radnor of 1-800-LAWFIRM.

The statement from the victim was made more than a year ago just now he is feeling the vindication of freedom -- something he says he knew would come even after his initial arrest in 1989.

"With a case like this you could end up dead, seriously hurt. But guys look at me ... they'd say you didn't do no stuff like that. I said no, man. They said you're going to get out. Don't worry about it you're going to get out, and I just kept the faith," Young said.

He credits his sister for never giving up on him and finding a lawfirm that would take his case.

"She said however it goes, I'm with you from start to finish. And I always believed," he said.

Now that he is free, he's concerned it might not be forever.

The Wayne County Prosecutor Office's indicated to Young's legal team they may have enough evidence to re-try the case without the victim's testimony.

"He gets out when he's almost 60 years old. And faces going right back in. That's not a system that works. That's broken system that needs to be fixed," Radnor said.

As Young waits to see what's next, he does it without any hatred in his heart.

"I'm not mad at anyone," Young said. "I just want to live my life and be with my family."

For Young, it's hard to plan too far into the future and his attorneys say a trial could last a year or longer.