Woman Sentenced to One to Three Years in Jail — After Sending Innocent Man to Prison for Four Years

Biurny Peguero Gonzalez allegedly was embarrassed when her friends were berating her for ditching them at a bar. Instead of claiming some urgent call or just telling the truth that she got into a guy’s car, she elected to cry rape. She stuck to her story through a trial and through years of incarceration of William McCaffrey for a rape that he did not commit. She has now been sentenced to three years for perjury — less than the four years that McCaffrey spent in prison.

Gonzalez begged the court for mercy on behalf of her two children. The truth came out after DNA evidence exonerated McCaffrey.

Prosecutors wanted more time, which is understandable since she is unlikely to spend half the time of McCaffrey. There is also no indication that the prosecutors are taking steps to discipline the officials who pushed through the prosecution with a striking absence of supporting evidence.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Carruthers who sentenced McCaffrey expressed regrets for both his sentencing of McCaffrey in 2006 and his words to him at that time: “I want to convey my personal regret for having participated, albeit unknowingly, in this injustice. Given the startling turn of events, I now retract what I said about you.”

As for McCaffrey, he simply said “I wish her the best of luck. Jail isn’t easy.” On the positive side, at least she knows she will be serving for a crime that she actually committed.

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