A teenager who spent nine days in prison after being charged with setting fire to Miss Selfridge during the Manchester riots has been cleared after new evidence emerged confirming his innocence.
Dane Williamson, 18, said he had had a nightmarish ordeal after he was charged with being involved in causing £500,000 damage to the Market Street store during the riots, despite having five alibis.
He was charged with criminal damage and being reckless over property damage or endangering life. His name was widely reported and Facebook groups were set up on which he was identified and subjected to abuse.
Williamson's flat in Salford was damaged by fire while he was on remand in Forest Bank prison; he lost all of his possessions and is now homeless. He suffered panic attacks after he was targeted by other prisoners who taunted him about what he had supposedly done.
A 50-year-old man has since been arrested in connection with the incident but Greater Manchester police say they are still searching for those who started the fire.
During his time on remand, Williamson said, he was called a firebug, told by prison staff he would be jailed for life, and initially locked up for 23 hours a day as a category A prisoner.
His solicitor, Kerry Morgan, criticised the judicial system for pursuing instant justice so much it resulted in an innocent man being locked up.
Williamson, who has spent much of his life in care and has two previous convictions, told the Manchester Evening News: "Being in Forest Bank was horrible. I had heard my name all over the radio. In prison I was being treated as if I was already guilty. It was quite scary and an experience I don't want to repeat.
"I was in there for nine days, 23 hours a day locked up in a cell. I was categorised as a category A prisoner at first then reduced to category B. I had a lot of snide comments from officers about the arson, like: 'You're that firebug,' 'You're gonna get time for this,' and 'They're gonna put you in Strangeways.'"
He added: "The worst thing that was said was: 'You're getting life and you're scum.' They must have told other prisoners because some would flick their fingers like a lighter in my face.
"I was going through hell. I was depressed. I was having panic attacks. The stress was awful. I feared I was going to get convicted for something I didn't do, which potentially carried a life sentence.
"While I was in custody I got the news from my solicitor that there had been a fire at my flat. That was very distressing. All my personal belongings and photos were destroyed. I lost my home. On top of everything else it was a final blow."
Williamson told how he had been arrested, saying: "One of my mates had said: 'Are you sure you were not involved in the riots? The photo of the arsonist looks a bit like you.'
"We had a laugh and a joke about it. Two police officers were stood in front of Phones 4 You, and I said: 'I'll prove it's not me,' and walked in front of the coppers. When I came out of the shop they grabbed me and then three more approached and asked if I had been involved in the riots. I said no.
"The next thing I was arrested in the middle of the street on suspicion of arson. I couldn't believe it. It was surreal. I was taken into police custody and it was all very distressing. I was interviewed at Pendleton police station and gave an account of where I was that day. Then I was interviewed again and they were trying to pin the offence on me and get me to admit it. I wasn't having any of it because it was not me."
He was charged with damage to the shop and presented before magistrates. He had been selling CDs on Market Street on the day of the riot but was at his brother's home in Salford during the evening.
Morgan, senior partner with Morgan Brown & Cahill, who represented Williamson, said: "They notified us as part of their duty of ongoing disclosure that they had checked footage in relation to Dane's account of where he was during the day and that CCTV showed him wearing similar clothes to the arsonist, but slightly different.
"Also a police officer had identified someone other than Dane who he thought was the suspect. Those two things undermined their case and as a result Dane was bailed on Thursday by the recorder of Manchester and later that day we received notification that the case against him was being discontinued."
Williamson has spent 17 of his 18 years in care, living in children's homes and foster homes. He has two previous convictions: for possession of cannabis in March this year, and burglary three years ago, when he and friends broke into the reception of a holiday camp. For both offences he was given a youth referral order.
He is annoyed that people were setting up Facebook pages about the riots, naming him and defaming him. He says he does not condone violence or rioting. This year, with the help of the charity Barnardo's, he moved into his own flat in Broughton, Salford, and has completed business courses at college.
Helen Carter @'The Guardian'
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