Ajay was wrongfully convicted of rape, yet over 700 people have already signed a petition supporting his innocence and asking authorities to look into this case. Family and friends have depleted all their resources to fight this legal battle. Currently, an appeal is being filed. Although we feel the evidence in the appeal should exonerate Ajay, we also realize that only 2% of all appeals are ever overturned.

The family would like to file a Habeas writ along with the direct appeal. The Habeas will allow them to include evidence that was not in the court transcripts. This evidence will let the appellate judges know beyond a shadow of doubt that Ajay was truly wrongfully convicted. They need an additional $38,000 to complete the investigations and file the Habeas writ. Every dollar raised allows a more complete and thorough Habeas petition to be filed with Ajay's appeal. Every dollar raised gives Ajay a better chance to come home to his family!

Please Help Right the Wrong Done to this Innocent Man

Website: www.AdvocatesForAjay.com

Facebook: Advocates For Ajay Dev

"Advocates for Ajay" represents hundreds of people who believe that Ajay Dev has been wrongfully convicted. Many supporters have been assisting Ajay in his fight for freedom and the truth;

• The Innocence Project of Northern California
• Change.Org where over 700 people sent letters to governmental agencies demanding an investigation
• NAFCA (Nepalis And Friends Cultural Association)
• Over 300 friends and supporters on Facebook
• Advocates for Ajay with over 700 members fighting for Ajay’s exoneration, some of which have been true victims of rape and sexual abuse.

The case of Ajay Dev, a dark skinned man, who was convicted of rape even though there was NO physical evidence, no witnesses, no corroborated testimony; and the alleged victim's testimony was inconsistent and outrageous. (Yolo County Superior Court Case #062444). Ajay’s story is NOT fiction; it is a devastating true to life story of how our judicial system has failed this innocent man and sent him to prison for 378 years.

How a wrongful conviction happened:

1. Davis Police Detective, Mark Hermann, failed to question pertinent witnesses, failed to examine alleged crime scenes, covered up multiple inconsistencies in the accuser’s statements, misrepresented facts and evidence to the jury, and influenced witnesses.

2. The DA charged Ajay with 92 counts and embellished them with accusations relating to porn to prejudice the jury. At the trial Ajay was acquitted of all the porn charges; however, the DDA grossly misrepresented facts to the jury and was able to keep out evidence that would have shown Ajay's innocence on the other charges.

3. The DDA’s argument hinged heavily on one sentence from a recorded pretext phone call scripted by the detective intended solely to entrap Ajay. After the trial, jurors commented through news blogs that they found the accuser’s testimony ‘hard to swallow’ but convicted Ajay based on this pretext call – a telephone call in which the accuser read many of her lines from a script created by the detective. The police detective testified at trial admitting that he had destroyed his notes regarding this phone call. The DDA and the judge allowed the accuser to translate the pretext at the trial. The DDA convinced the jury of Ajay’s guilt by distorting one phrase and using it out of context. Also, the DDA erroneously stated that Ajay never denied the accusations in Nepali. However, during the 58 minute phone call Ajay denied these accusations in English and Nepali a total of 52 times. Even the accuser acknowledged during the pretext phone call there were no admissions of guilt.

Adding to this injustice is the unparalleled sentence Ajay received of 378 years, even though:

• Ajay volunteered to take a lie detector test right after the accuser filed her complaint and passed.
• No physical evidence.
• No DNA.
• No prior convictions or arrests of any kind – Ajay had a clean record. However, his accuser was convicted of passport fraud and perjury at the age of 22; and admittedly lied on immigration documents to gain immigration benefits.
• At sentencing the judge stated that he did not find Ajay a danger to the public.

Ajay’s story is a tragedy; a family broken, two young sons growing up without their fathers’ love, encouragement and direction. Ajay was a productive tax-paying U.S. citizen, having his MS in Engineering, a Professional Engineer for the State of California, a humanitarian who believed in working to unite people around the world; a board member and volunteer for several national and international non-profit organizations (NAFCA, NAGC, ANA, DAC, EJC), most commonly known for raising funds to aid victims of floods and cyclones in Nepal and Bangladesh.

We ask you to help us in restoring justice, please donate so that the injustice done to Ajay be corrected.

Background:

Ajay immigrated to the US when he was 14 years old. His father was a University professor and his mother runs a day care center. Ajay met his wife Peggy while attending college. He became a US citizen at the age of 22. He and his American wife, Peggy, adopted a 16 year old teenage girl from Nepal striving to give her a better education and life while also ensuring that after she was established, she would help her biological family in Nepal and others if the opportunity arose. The problems began after she turned 18 and got her green card and escalated later when the couple and their 19 year old adopted daughter conflicted over priorities – college and career vs. boyfriends and her social life.

Ajay and Peggy tried to keep her focused on education. However, their daughter believed they were overly involved in her life. Numerous arguments ensued over priorities and responsibilities over the next 18 months. Eventually, after just such an argument Ajay and Peggy asked her to move out of their home.

Although she was over 20 years old at the time, Ajay and Peggy promised her biological family in Nepal they would continue to take care of her. She had not even finished with her third semester of college. They felt obligated to inform her biological parents that she had moved out of the house so she could socialize at all hours of the night, and was not doing well in school. The young woman interpreted this as an infringement on her freedom, and the arguments escalated. She retaliated by accusing them of physical abuse. Shocked, hurt, and saddened by her accusation, Ajay and Peggy disinherited her and withdrew all financial support. Angry and fearful of deportation to her native country of Nepal, a lifestyle she no longer desired, as well as being worried about having to be held accountable for her misbehavior, the accusation escalated from physical abuse to that of sexual abuse.

Unbelievable Accusations:

1. At the age of 21 the accuser claimed that she was raped 3 times a week for the previous five years – a total of 750 rapes.

2. No one saw any evidence of rape or abuse of any kind. The Adoption Social Worker, the accuser’s Doctor, Teachers, friends, and family saw an assertive, confident and happy teenager growing into a young woman.

The Adoption Social worker who performed a psychological evaluation of the accuser and the adoptive parents and thorough home study saw a normal loving family. The Social Worker wrote in his report that the accuser happily signed and consented to her adoption. The accuser now alleges she had been raped 120 times during this process.

The accuser’s doctor testified that she saw no signs of any type of abuse during the 4 years she cared for the accuser, which is counter to the current claims by the accuser that she was raped 3x per week (625 times) during that same period.

3. At the ages of 19-20 on several private medical documents the accuser declared that she had never been the victim of rape or abuse and she stated the first age of sexual intercourse was at 18 (more).

4. She claims she was raped while her adopted mother was asleep in the same bed, and at 5 different family and friends’ homes while everyone was present. All testified a rape did not occur in their presence. And that they never witnessed anything suspicious between Ajay and the accuser.

5. During the trial, the accuser was shown repeatedly not to be credible. Under oath she testified she never had sexual relations with any boys while she lived at home, yet a past boyfriend testified they did have sex during that time frame.

Stop Cash for Convictions!

Several newspapers and civilian groups have uncovered problems in Yolo County. Among them are: The DavisVanguard, The Sacramento News & Review, The Yolo County Justice Coalition, The Justice Reform Coalition and Advocates for Ajay. Most notably, an investigative reporter for the DavisVanguard has uncovered that the Yolo County DA receives Federal Grant money for sexual assault cases. To maintain this grant the DA needs to show increased conviction rates. Unfortunately for Ajay, DA Jeff Reisig is not vetting cases on their merits – he has an incentivized quota to meet and a timeline to do it in. In fact a Davis Vanguard Investigation Found Evidence of Exaggerated Crime Figures in DA Grant Applications.

Advocates for Ajay are very sympathetic to true victims of rape and sexual abuse. Among those advocating for Ajay’s innocence are true victims of rape and sexual abuse. One of the tragedies of false allegations is that it denigrates the true victims of these horrific crimes. What unfolded in the case of Ajay Dev is a frightening tragedy. Visit www.AdvocatesForAjay.com to learn how the tragedy began, read statements from those people who know he is innocent and learn how Ajay Dev was falsely convicted.

Naturally, people are very sympathetic towards true victims of rape and molestation. However, this creates an inherent prejudice towards somebody accused of these types of crimes. Most people don’t realize that up to 40% of rape claims are proven false (False Rape Accusations May Be More Common Than Thought - Wendy McElroy). Unfortunately it has taken a lot of work by groups like the Innocence Project which has exonerated 271 people as of June 2011, for people to start to realize the short comings of the legal system – www.innocenceproject.org

We ask you to please donate so that this injustice can be corrected.

Learn more about Ajay’s story and the fight for his freedom by visiting www.advocatesforajay.com and Facebook: Advocates For Ajay Dev and sign our petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/free-ajay-dev-a-victim-of-cash-for-convictions