A judge in Montgomery County threw out the confession of an accused rapist, the Washington Post reported.
According to the paper, Circuit Court Judge Eric M. Johnson decided that Montgomery County police had not read the accused his rights before beginning an interrogation that led to the confession.
In the case, a Montgomery County man admitted to police that he had fondled and sexually abused his daughter over a three year period starting when she was age 11. Following the judge's decision, the suspect was released from jail under the condition that he stay away from his daughter.
In making his ruling, Johnson said that circumventing proper procedure during investigations was becoming a common practice in Montgomery County. From the Post:
“A system of subterfuge has developed in the law enforcement community with respect to interrogation techniques,” said Johnson, who in his ruling did not name other cases in which he thinks police have crossed a line.
However, leadership with the county police force stand behind their methods.
"“I have no problem with what the detectives did,” Montgomery Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said to the Post. “I have confidence in my detectives as they work these cases.”
