Prosecutors have dropped charges against a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Fiesta Island.
Michael Kobulnicky, a former San Diego Tea Party spokesperson and Mormon Church leader, had faced charges of kidnapping and sexual assault for a sexual encounter that he said was consensual. Prosecutors dropped all charges Thursday morning.
Kobulnicky was emotional and cried when John Reis, a district attorney, announced that charges were dropped.
He spoke on Thursday after being released, but did not want to talk about the case.
"I just wanted to clear my name," he said.
Kobulnicky said he lost his job as a result of the incident, and had to cancel his wedding. He said both himself and his fiance "went through hell" during the ordeal.
"The police department went with the best information that we had and the forensic evidence and in a complete investigation we did the best job that we could, and that of course included the arrest of Mr. Kobulnicky," said San Diego Police Department spokesperson Lt. Andra Brown. "We don't understand why [the victim] changed her stories, but we do understand the district attorney's actions."
The victim of a recent sexual assault spoke in open court Monday claiming the police have arrested the wrong man.
At a pretrial hearing Monday, the alleged victim spoke in open court telling the judge that Kobulnicky was not the man who raped her.
Laura Chiles, who told NBCSanDiego to use her full name, told the judge, "This is the wrong man you people have."
"This man is not the man who attacked me," she said.
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