Charges against a 65-year-old man indicted of sexual battery of a 9-year-old boy have been dropped.

Defense attorney Todd S. Clemons said Gerald John Valerie was falsely accused in June of 2018, and has been living a “nightmare” the past five years.

“This was a child that Gerald was mentoring and tutoring at the request of the boy’s grandmother,” Clemons said in a emailed statement to the American Press.

Valerie, who was an information technology technician at Molo Middle School, was terminated upon his arrest.

“He has never been arrested nor convicted of any crimes in his life,” Clemons said, noting Valerie paid a bondsman $22,000 to secure his freedom after his bond was set at $175,000.

Clemons said though the offense carries a minimum sentence of 25 years and a maximum sentence of 99 years imprisonment, Valerie rejected multiple opportunities to plead guilty to a reduced charge.

Valerie’s trial was initially set for April 3, but a motion to continue was granted after the Calcasieu District Attorney’s Office said it had recently discovered information beneficial to the defense that need to be turned over, Clemons said. They also purportedly had not been able to secure the presence of a material witness.

At new trial date set for June 26, the DA’s office dismissed the charge.

“Now our client must begin the journey of rebuilding his life and securing his good name that has been unjustly tarnished,” Clemons said.