Sexual assault charges dropped against SF Sheriff Oversight Board member

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — All charges have been dropped against a San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board member who was arrested for sexual assault, the San Francisco District Attorney said. William Palmer was arrested and charged with sexual assault and had been in jail since November.

Charges were dropped on the eve of his trial due to concerns over the alleged victim’s credibility, the DA said. Palmer’s attorney, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, has argued there was no corroborating evidence to support the alleged victim’s claims.

Evidence has since come to light, according to the DA, that further called into question the alleged victim’s credibility. Charges were dismissed by prosecutors before a jury could be seated.

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“Mr. Palmer feels relieved and vindicated,” said Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Cediel. “He has denied these allegations from the very beginning. He lost five months of his life and livelihood being jailed on these false allegations, and I am grateful that he gets to go home.”

“I commend the defense team for their thorough investigation and staunch defense of Mr. Palmer, who unfortunately had to wait for the brink of trial to get justice,” said elected San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This case illustrates how important it is to push for a jury trial because it often takes that final push to make the state properly evaluate the evidence and realize that it cannot meet its burden.”

Palmer, 53, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole at age 17 for a failed robbery of an off-duty police officer, the DA said. He was released in 2019.

He has always maintained his innocence in regard to case at hand, according to the DA.

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