Who are the Central Park 5? How group of men wrongly convicted of New York jogger sex assault are suing Trump
The cohort of men known as the 'Central Park Five' have sued former president Donald Trump for making 'defamatory' comments about the individuals in last month's presidential debate.
The case saw five black and Hispanic teens would unwittingly become subject to one of the most notorious miscarriages of justice in modern American history.
But who exactly are the group known as the 'Central Park Five'? What were they convicted and later exonerated of and what does Donald Trump have to do with the case?
Read on below for everything you need to know about the 'Central Park Five'.
What was the original Central Park crime?
Pictured: A file image shows a view of the Central Park Lake and Loeb Boathouse in June 2024
On the night of April 19 1989, at around 9pm local time, around 30 teenage boys entered New York City's Central Park, causing a disturbance that saw them allegedly assault and intimidate passers-by.
Meanwhile, a young white woman who was jogging through the park was hit over the head, dragged nearly 300ft from the roadway, beaten unconscious and sexually assaulted.
When people discovered 28-year-old Patricia 'Trisha' Meili, at around 1:30am the following day, she was barely alive and had lost approximately 80% of her blood.
Her skull had been fractured so badly that her left eye was dislodged from its socket, which itself was fractured in 21 places.
Who are the Central Park 5 and what were they convicted of?
Yusef Salaam, member of the New York City Council, and Reverend Al Sharpton stand onstage with Korey Wise, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024
In 1989, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson, both aged 14 at the time, Antron McCray and Yusef Salaam, both 15 at the time and Korey Wise, 16, were among the boys taken into custody for Meili's attack.
After hours of interrogation at the Central Park Precinct, the boys confessed to assaulting her as they were under duress.
However, they subsequently withdrew their admissions, stating that they only confessed under the premise that they would be allowed to go home after doing so.
Between April 27 and April 28 1989, all five teens were indicted on counts including rape, assault, attempted murder and rioting.
As the only 16-year-old among the group, Wise was charged as an adult and sent to Rikers Island prison in New York City, while the remaining four were taken into juvenile facilities.
When were the Central Park 5 exonerated and how?
In 2001, Matias Reyes met Wise when they were held at the Auburn Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Reyes subsequently informed a corrections officer in the facility that he had raped Meili.
In 2002, Reyes told officials that on the night of April 19 1989, when he was aged 17, he had assaulted and raped the female jogger.
He said that he had committed it alone, adding that he had intended to steal items from the victim's apartment.
After District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office was notified of the confession in 2002, he appointed a team led by Assistant District Attorneys Nancy Ryan and Peter Casolaro to investigate the case, based on Reyes's confession and a review of evidence.
The group were exonerated in 2002 after the review found that Reyes' DNA matched the traces of semen found on Meili.
What was Donald Trump's advert in 1989 on the Central Park 5?
A full-page newspaper ad taken out by Donald Trump in 1989 in The New York Times, calling for a return of the death penalty after the Central Park jogger case
Back in 1989, the year the crime originally took place, Trump was a leading figure in real estate.
On May 1 that year, he called for the return of the death penalty by paying for full-page advertisements in several New York City newspapers, which read: 'BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!'
Following the publication of the advertisements, one of them was included as an exhibit in the lawsuit.
Despite the 'Central Park Five' since being cleared of any wrongdoing, Trump continued to be critical of the case since moving into politics.
In 2014, Trump wrote in the New York Daily News that New York City's $41million settlement with the 'Central Park Five' was 'a disgrace.'
In October 2016, while running for President, Trump stood by his previous actions when the case was active, telling CNN: 'They admitted they were guilty.'
What happened to the Central Park 5 after they were released from prison?
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina, on October 21 2024
Salaam has been vocal about how he and the members of 'Central Park Five' were mistreated while in detention.
In an October 2016 editorial published in The Washington Post, Salaam claimed that police officers who interrogated himself and his codefendants denied them any food, drink and sleep for more than 24 hours.
Now married and a father, he continues to speak about the incident to this day and, in 2016, Salaam received a lifetime achievement award from the then-US President Barack Obama.
His memoir Better, Not Bitter: Living On Purpose In The Pursuit Of Racial Justice, was published in 2021 and calls for prison reform.
In 2023, Salaam was elected to represent Harlem on the New York City Council, and assumed office on January 1 2024.
Wise and Richardson both work for Innocence Project, a charity that 'works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone.'
Meanwhile, Santana now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his daughter, as has embarked on a career as a filmmaker.
In 2018, he launched a clothing line called Park Madison NYC.
In 2019, the company announced a portion of the funds received from its 'Brotherhood Tee' - which bears the first names of the 'Central Park Five' - would be donated to the Innocence Project.
McCray was 15 when he was tried and convicted on charges of rape, assault, robbery and riot.
Sentenced to five to 10 years in prison, he was released after serving six, and is now living in the southern region of the US according to People, where he is raising his children.
