In December of 2008, Wayne Bent was wrongly convicted of criminal sexual contact of a minor and given an 18-year sentence, 10 of which was prison time. There was no evidence presented in court, and no testimony from anyone, that the touching of sexual parts of any minor had occurred.
Wayne Bent appealed his conviction and the Appellate Court then unanimously ruled that the trial of Wayne Bent was illegal and that no trial had actually occurred.
The state then appealed to the Supreme Court and after over a year’s time ruled that there was “no remedy” for Mr. Bent’s illegal trial. The Supreme Court sustained the illegal trial and the wrongful conviction and returned the case to the Appellate Court for consideration of eight additional issues.