Exonerated 'Central Park Five' sue Trump for defamation after debate comments

The five men who make up the Central Park Five, and now call themselves the Exonerated Five, have filed a defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump over his remarks during the presidential debate last month.

The lawsuit focuses on the Sept. 10 debate in Pennsylvania, where Trump said that the five men — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise  — pleaded guilty when they were tried in connection with the assault and rape of a woman who had been running in Central Park on April 19, 1989, and that the victim had died.

During the debate he said: "They admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty -- then they pled we’re not guilty."

At the time of the trials, each had pleaded not guilty and the victim of the attack survived.

The complaint said Trump's statements are "demonstrably false," adding, "Plaintiffs never pled guilty to any crime and were subsequently cleared of all wrongdoing. Further the victims of the Central Park assaults were not killed." The complaint further said that the men have "suffered injuries as a result of Defendant Trump’s false and defamatory statements."

The five, who were teenagers when they were indicted, had maintained their innocence throughout their trials and incarceration. In their trials, they were charged with the assault of the female jogger as well as other assaults and robberies that occurred in Central Park. 

The five spent years behind bars before being exonerated in 2002 after DNA evidence linked another man, a serial rapist, to the attack. The city ultimately agreed in a legal settlement to pay the exonerated men $41 million.

The case came at a time of heightened racial tensions and when crime dominated headlines. Trump, then a real estate mogul, had taken out large ads in newspapers calling for New York to bring back the death penalty. 

The defamation suit was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The complaint noted that Salaam, a New York City Council Member representing District Nine, was in attendance at the debate and was in the room when Trump made those statements. 

The five men did not ask for a specific amount in relief, but asked that a trial be held to determine damages.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.