A Minnesota man wrongly named as a person of interest in the 1989 abduction of Jacob Wetterling is suing authorities.
Dan Rassier filed his federal lawsuit Wednesday. He was publicly named as a person of interest in 11-year-old Jacob’s abduction in 2010 after authorities searched his central Minnesota farm.
Rassier maintained his innocence but wasn’t cleared until last year after another man confessed and led authorities to Jacob’s remains. Danny Heinrich is serving a 20-year sentence on a separate child pornography charge.
Rassier and his mother, Rita, are seeking more than $2 million in damages.
Among other things, the lawsuit against Stearns County Sheriff John Sanner and other investigators obtained the search warrant for the farm illegally. A defense attorney says the investigators’ actions were reasonable.
Meanwhile, officials also signaled that the public may soon have its first look at the investigative file into the Wetterling abduction.
Stearns County officials are entering the final stages of redacting and copying thousands of pages of statements, tips and interview transcripts regarding the 11-year-old who was abducted near his St. Joseph home.
Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Bruce Bechtold told the St. Cloud Times the cost of preparing the file for release could reach $200,000.
Staff will start working on redacting the audio and video transcripts Monday in hopes of releasing the file in the next month or two.
Work on the file began in late October after Heinrich admitted kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Jacob. Heinrich is serving a 20-year sentence for child pornography.