NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man accused of raping a woman in Norfolk in 2017 took an Alford plea for a lesser charge earlier this week.
An Alford plea means a person maintains their innocence but agrees to plead guilty.
Powanzieo Griffin, 31, of Chesapeake, entered the Alford plea on a misdemeanor sexual battery charge Tuesday in Norfolk Circuit Court.
“Oh it’s shell-shocking,” Griffin said in an interview with 10 On Your Side. “I can’t believe that I would get accused of rape.”
Griffin spent 17 months in jail charged with rape.
“I feel like even though I’m out of jail at the moment, justice still was not served.” Griffin added.
Griffin was arrested in 2019. Two years before that, he says he met a woman on the dating site “Plenty of Fish.” She invited him over to her house and they had sex.
“I met her one time and had consensual sex with her,” Griffin said.
The woman told police someone snuck into her house and raped her. She never saw the man’s face. DNA linked Griffin to the crime.
“I would describe it as tragic,” added defense attorney Eric Korslund. “It is absolutely sad on so many levels.”
Griffin was looking at life in prison if convicted, but then an offer came just before his trial. Prosecutors offered to change the felony rape charge to a misdemeanor sexual battery. He’d be let out of jail right away and if he stays clean for a year the charge will be dismissed. He decided to take the deal.
“I believe they know I’m innocent, because if you had me dead to rights so what? We have your DNA, let’s proceed, let’s head off to court,” Griffin added.
10 On Your Side asked the Norfolk commonwealth’s attorney what changed, but did not immediately receive an answer.
“I would like to think that in the process of investigating this case that the commonwealth’s attorney had some serious doubt about it and they don’t want to put innocent people in jail,” Korslund said.
According to court records, the case is under advisement until Aug. 27, 2021.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
