Las Vegas, NV (AP) — A man convicted of kidnapping and sexual assaulting a 6-year-old girl has been released from prison after the Nevada Supreme Court ruled there was misconduct during his trial.
That ruling led to an order Monday for the immediate release of 41-year-old Diego Salazar.
Salazar was found guilty in 2015 and sentenced to 41 years. Prosecutors allege in 2013, he dragged the victim into his camper in an Indian Springs trailer park and assaulted her.
The state’s highest court pointed to a meeting in chambers between Assistant District Attorney Robert Daskas and now-retired District Judge Doug Smith during the trial. Smith did not allow defense attorneys to join. Later, Smith nullified an outstanding warrant for a witness who flew in to testify that she saw the victim leave Salazar’s camper.
Salazar and his attorneys have since met with Daskas and do not believe the prosecutor had asked for any special favors.
In court Monday, Salazar accepted an Alford agreement and pleaded guilty to one count each of battery with substantial bodily harm and possession of a controlled substance. Under an Alford agreement, he acknowledged only that prosecutors had enough evidence to prove the allegations to a jury.
Besides being released, he will not have to register as a sex offender.