LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Earlier this month, we aired a three-part investigation we called “Defiance.”
It was an in-depth look at a sexual assault case that played out in court for nearly a decade, laying bare issues with our justice system when it comes to rape allegations.
That investigation focused on Matthew Leonard Werner.
On Wednesday morning, we learned that Werner was released from a California state prison Tuesday.
In 2023, he pled no contest to one felony count of assault likely to cause great bodily injury and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery for an attack on a woman, Shira Scott Astroff.
That attack occurred eight years earlier in 2015.
Werner received a suspended sentence and initially served no time in prison.
But the LAPD gathered evidence to show Werner was violating his probation.
This past February, an L.A. County judge then ordered Werner to serve his full sentence.
The Department of Corrections tells us Werner received 972 days of credit for time served and was eligible for other credit earning opportunities, so he was released.
The LAPD tells us they are still investigating Werner.
They say anyone with relevant information can call Los Angeles police at 213-473-0447.
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