Several years after an Orange County woman was framed in a rape fantasy plot, the ex-boyfriend whom prosecutors say framed her, is convicted.
Through text messages, Michelle Hadley says she is grateful for the conviction, and also shared that she just welcomed a baby girl.
Six years after federal prosecutors say Hadley was framed in a twisted plot, a federal jury convicted her ex-boyfriend, 44-year-old Ian Diaz, a former deputy US Marshal, for conspiracy to commit cyberstalking, perjury and obstruction on Thursday.
“He was so willing to theoretically put a gun to her head and pull the trigger and not care. So I don't see why we need him back in society,” Michael Guisti, a criminal defense attorney, said.
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The criminal defense attorney who represented Hadley reacted to the conviction, which he says is long overdue.
“I think being exonerated does not mean as much to her as vindication of what he did to her,” Guisti said.
Hadley, now 36, shared new photos today. She found her life turned upside down when federal prosecutors say Diaz framed Hadley as part of a twisted plot to get her to walk away from a condo they owned together.
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Diaz, with his then new wife Angela, are accused of creating fake Craigslist ads in which Diaz's wife wanted rape fantasies fulfilled.
When men started to respond, Angela Diaz claimed she was attacked.
The couple told police, someone was behind those ads -- pointing the finger at Michelle Hadley.
Anaheim police arrested Hadley and she spent three months in jail, before she was exonerated.
“We survive but we don't necessarily heal -- when you've been in jail for 90 days - jail for one day, it’s a nightmare,” Guisti said. “I don't really think you can't unsee that, unknow it, un remember it. I think anyone who's at this kind of traumatic event is going to stay there a long time.”
The conviction comes as Hadley just welcomed her first child.
“My life has been filled by strange, often symbolic, and sometimes beautiful coincidences like this. My daughter represents my rainbow after a very long storm, and my heart has never felt so full.”
“I hope my story becomes a beacon of hope for other domestic violence survivors. I want them to know they are not alone. there are so many wonderful people in this world who care and will fight alongside them,” Hadley said.
NBC4 reached out to Ian Diaz's attorney for comment but did not hear back.
His sentencing is set for June 30. Dias faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
