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$6.2 million settlement for boy falsely accused by Chicago police

The Associated Press

CHICAGO- A boy falsely accused of the murder of an 11-year-old girl seven years ago agreed Monday to settle his lawsuit against the city and two police detectives for $6.2 million, the judge announced.

The settlement still must be approved by the City Council, said the order from Judge Randye Kogan.

The settlement comes less than a week after the City Council ordered city lawyers to settle the case, which has been in trial for several weeks.

Earlier this year, the city agreed to a $2 million settlement with the family of another boy also falsely accused in the 1998 murder of Ryan Harris.

Harris’ slaying made national headlines after the two boys, then 7 and 8, became the youngest murder suspects in the United States at the time. It took almost a month before the boys were cleared after tests showed semen on the girl’s clothing could not have come from them.

DNA tests later led police to charge Floyd Durr, a Chicago man who has been convicted of sexually assaulting other girls. Durr is awaiting trial in Harris’ death.