For nearly a year, Ilya Zaretsky sat in the Gwinnett County jail accused of raping a younger relative.
That changed Monday when Zaretsky, 45, was released after the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case.
Zaretsky and his attorney told Channel 2 Action News the detective on the case failed to collect sufficient evidence.
“(The detective) had not collected any DNA. She had not collected the clothing from the victim, the sheets from the house, she never even went and inspected the crime scene where the alleged rape occurred,” attorney Jay Abt told Channel 2. “She didn't question several people who were in the house that night.”
District Attorney Danny Porter said the accuser’s story also didn’t add up, Channel 2 reported.
Zaretsky and Abt believe the story was concocted as retaliation for Zaretsky divorcing his wife.
But while Zaretsky may have walked out of jail a free man, he will have to rebuild everything he had.
“It destroyed my family,” he said. “I had a career that I built over 17 years and it destroyed my career. My son actually attempted suicide while I was incarcerated because he missed his father.”
Zaretsky alleged that a member of the accuser’s family tried to extort money from him.
Still, with what he’s been through, Zaretsky is “thankful he had the right team.”
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