MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – A Montgomery County man is finally getting closure after he was convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.
Closure in the amount of nearly half a million dollars.
David Kingrea received over $55,000 last year from the Commonwealth for the time he spent in jail in 2014 for a crime he didn’t commit.
But that’s not where David’s story ends. There was more money to come for the eight years Kingrea wrongfully spent on the Virginia Sex Offender Registry.
“Being on the registry itself has been a death sentence,” said Kingrea.
While on the registry, Kingrea was barred from parts of his son, Dylan’s life.
He couldn’t visit Dylan at school, take him to the playground or even be apart of parent-teacher conferences.
Kingrea will receive about $431,000 from the Commonwealth for his time on the sex offender registry.
“It’s half a million dollars. You know no amount of money can ever pay for time. Time is so precious. And that’s a fact. It can buy a lot of things, it can’t buy that but it can make things right for tomorrow,” said Kingrea.
He plans to spend the money helping his nine-year-old son, Dylan.
Dylan has autism and cerebral palsy, making him non-verbal and in need of around-the-clock care.
“It means even so much with having my son Dylan. Just being able to get him what he needs. That’s what I live for. And that’s because I love that boy. It’s been hard,” said Kingrea.
The money comes from the bill unanimously approved by the General Assembly, after it was introduced by Delegate Rip Sullivan.
“This is a person who was found not to have committed the crime, but is mistakenly included on the sexual offender registry,” said Del. Sullivan.
The University of Virginia’s Innocence Project has worked to reform the way people, like Kingrea receive money for the time they unjustifiably spent in prison or on the sex offender list.
“It’s impossible to put a value on a person’s life and we previously advocated for different amounts and I don’t know if I’ll ever think a dollar amount is satisfactory,” said Juliet Hatchett with the UVA Innocence Project.
Kingrea is set to receive his money in a lump sum in July.
When the money hits the account finally, that will erase it all. That will be the resolve. Because I will actually be able to move forward,” he said.