TL;DR I was falsely accused in 2012, my case was finally dismissed with prejudice today.

In the fall of 2012, my daughter, after having been convinced that she must have been sexually abused by her then therapist, entered into a form of 'Recovered Memory Therapy'. As a result of this process, she became convinced that I had sexually abused her while she was growing up. A complaint was filed, and charges brought against me in October of 2012. I surrendered to authorities and was incarcerated for 60 days until my attorneys were able to obtain a release, based on the weakness of the case.

All of 2013 was spent in and out of court arguing various motions, obtaining therapy records, interviewing my other children, my wife, neighbors, and neighborhood children, and finally in the spring of 2014, the prosecution admitted that the only evidence against me was the memories produced by the therapists. (The Supreme Court of Utah has ruled that 'Recovered Memories' are not admissible as evidence at trial).

When no other evidence could be found or developed, and in fact the evidence continued to suggest that I was innocent, the prosecution reluctantly moved for a dismissal, but it was WITHOUT prejudice meaning that the case could be reinstated at any time if some other evidence came forward.

Today, my attorneys argued a motion to dismiss the case WITH prejudice. The prosecution objected, wanting to keep the case open for the rest of my life. My attorneys argued eloquently and forcefully and the motion to dismiss WITH prejudice was granted by the judge. My nearly 3-year nightmare of false memories and accusations finally seems to be drawing to an end.

The next step will be to apply for a certificate of expungement, which is more of a procedural hurdle than a legal one. Once the expungement is granted, my record can be cleared and I can once again seek employment in some other field rather than asking if you would like fries with your order.

God, I thought today would never come.