A man who spent 15 years in prison for allegedly raping an 8-year-old girl was freed Tuesday at the urging of prosecutors who said DNA evidence proves his innocence.
Jimmy Ray Bromgard, 33, immediately turned and hugged family members in the courtroom.
"I never did think he did it in the first place," said Bromgard's mother, Dianna Merrill.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh approved the request by the Yellowstone County attorney and Montana Attorney General Mike McGrath, who had asked the judge to vacate Bromgard's convictions based on the results of DNA testing that wasn't widely used at the time of Bromgard's trial.
"Clearly from the DNA analysis, Mr. Bromgard was wrongly and in error convicted," the judge said.