NEW YORK — A long-forgotten sixth suspect in the notorious 1989 Central Park Five rape case was exonerated Monday, more than 30 years after he pleaded guilty to a related crime, the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced.
Steven Lopez was 14 years old when he was arrested along with the Central Park Five — Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam. The more well-known five were convicted separately of raping a white woman jogging in the park ― a crime that outraged the city and contributed to racial tensions across the five boroughs.
The five’s convictions were vacated, and they received a $41 million settlement from the city in 2014.
