Man accused of rape, kidnapping mistakenly released from jail

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned a man accused of rape and kidnapping was mistakenly released from jail.

Justin Jackson is accused of kidnapping the mother of his child in 2017 and torturing her over a three-day period in Atlanta. He was supposed to be held without bond pending trial but was recently released.

Channel 2's Tom Jones spoke with the victim who said she is afraid for her life.

"They were supposed to protect me and keep me aware of everything," she said. "Now I got to look over my shoulder, watch where I go."

To make matters worse, the victim said she was the one who brought light to the mistake.

"They didn't even know he was out until I contacted them. That really hurts," she said.

The district attorney's office and the Fulton County Jail are pointing the finger at each other.

"Well when you point one finger at us, you're pointing three fingers back at yourself," Chief Deputy Mark Adger said.

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Adger said the last order the jail saw in its case management computer system was that charges against Jackson had been dropped.

The chief deputy said there was nothing in the system that showed a grand jury had reindicted Jackson and he was being held without bond.

"We released him pursuant to the documents we had on hand," Adger said.

District Attorney Paul Howard repeatedly called jail officials liars after they blamed his office for the mistake. He said this is all about the jail not checking the status of defendants before releasing them.

The victim said the two sides need to correct whatever went wrong.

"I'm like terrified for my life," she said.

The victim is now in protective custody.

Deputies are out searching for Jackson.

The jail said it has reached out to the district attorney's office to resolve the issue but hasn't heard from anyone.

Howard said his chief deputy talked to a jail official who looked on the computer and saw the indictment and no bond and told her Jackson shouldn't have been released.

Cox Media Group