An Oklahoma man who spent 84 days in jail for a rape he did not commit is planning to sue for wrongful arrest and detention. Tommy Braden, of Sapulpa, was arrested on April 6, 2012, after being accused of the brutal rape of his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter. Braden proclaimed his innocence and begged the Creek County Sheriff's Office to conduct a DNA test, but they refused. According to Braden's attorney, the Sheriff's Office said they were not going to do a DNA test because it was a "waste of taxpayers' dollars." Eventually, the accused man's sex crimes defense lawyer got a judge to approve a DNA test, and the evidence cleared Braden of the crime on July 3, approximately three months after his wrongful arrest.

The DNA evidence not only excluded Braden as a suspect in the child's rape, but it came back as a perfect match for Patrick Edward Misner, a convicted felon who was living in the same mobile home park as Braden, his girlfriend, and her children. Misner has since been charged with burglary, lewd molestation, and rape, and is being held on $750,000 while awaiting trial.

Braden and his lawyers say investigators should not have been so quick to make an arrest without looking at potential suspects living nearby, and they assert a DNA test should have been conducted immediately.

Records indicate that the attack on the little girl occurred late one night while Braden, his girlfriend, and her 2-year-old son were asleep at the opposite end of their trailer. The girl's mother left for work early in the morning, and Braden later discovered the child naked and bleeding in bed. He noticed that her window had been broken and there was blood on the front porch, believed to be from a family dog that was later found stabbed to death behind the residence.

Police said that the scene appeared to be staged and that a lie detector indicated that Braden was deceptive when questioned about the child. Furthermore, the girl identified Braden as her attacker. However, Braden's attorney notes that the little girl's identification came after more than an hour of questioning.

According to his lawyer, Braden has suffered tremendously as a result of his wrongful arrest, and the damage to his family, his job, and his reputation could have been avoided if the Creek County Sheriff's Office had not been negligent in their refusal to perform a DNA test which would have immediately exonerated Braden.

Because of Braden's arrest, DHS filed a case against his girlfriend for failure to protect her daughter. Despite the fact he has since been cleared of the crime, DHS has not yet dropped the deprived child case against the girl's mother.

In cases of child sexual abuse or violent rape, police and child welfare agents act quickly to make an arrest and to get a suspected abuser away from any potential victims. It is critical that we protect our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, but it is also important to preserve the rights of the accused. Just because a person is suspected of a crime does not mean he or she is guilty of the crime. In this case, a DNA test conducted early in the investigation would have set an innocent man free. However, he was held for three months until a defense attorney was able to assert his rights.

Now, he is seeking compensation. The real "waste of taxpayers' dollars" comes not from the cost of DNA testing, but the costs of a wrongful arrest and detention and a possible damage award from a civil lawsuit.