Aggravated: The True Story of How a Series of Lies Sent an Innocent Man to Prison

In 2006, Steve Sirois was sentenced to serve 35 years in a Texas prison for a crime he didn’t commit. He and his older brother, Michael, weren’t especially close growing up – fourteen years and four other siblings crowded the space between them – but their relationship changed when Steve was accused of a horrendous crime, aggravated sexual assault of a child. After the conviction, Michael started helping Steve write his appeals, but what he saw in the trial transcripts didn’t make sense. How could a jury have convicted his brother based on that testimony? In her affidavit, Steve’s accuser gave vague dates for the crime, but soon abandoned those for different dates, and even replaced the details of her claims with new ones. Despite her accusations, Steve was adamant, swearing, I didn’t do it. It never happened. There was no forensic evidence, no semen stains or pubic hairs to provide DNA, no weapons, no sex tape. Nothing but his accuser’s words. Michael wondered if he could prove that her accusations were false. But how? Using affidavits, court transcripts, and interviews; along with additional evidence from public information requests and other factual data, the book lays out a devastating portrait of an untruthful accuser, an overzealous prosecutor, a jury that made a deal to swap votes in order to gain a conviction, and the series of lies that led to that outcome.