Man exonerated after video shows kidnapping didn’t happen

A judge has dismissed the case against a man accused by a 14-year-old California girl of trying to kidnap her after his defense attorney found surveillance video contradicting the teen’s statement to police.

Stanislaus Superior Court Judge Ricardo Cordova on Wednesday dismissed the criminal case against Sandeep Singh after determining that the Ceres man was “factually innocent.” The request to dismiss the case came at the request of prosecutors, the Modesto Bee reported .

Singh spent more than seven months fighting felony kidnapping allegations after the teenager told police a man of Indian descent driving a pickup grabbed her last June her as she walked on a street but that she got away.

The girl identified Singh when police took her to where he was and he was arrested, according to Singh’s attorney, Kirk McAllister.

“I’m just happy that the truth came out,” Singh said after the hearing. “Basically, I think I got my life back.”

As part of the defense investigation, McAllister found and subpoenaed security camera video from a nearby church that shows Singh’s pickup truck driving past the young woman and never stopping.

“It totally exonerated him,” he said.

Deputy District Attorney Erin Schwartz told the judge that after the video surfaced investigators interviewed the girl, who confirmed the attempted kidnapping didn’t happen and “she lied about what Mr. Singh did.”