Jecory May

On October 11, 2022, 41-year-old Jecory May was exonerated in McKinney, Texas, more than 18 years after he was falsely accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl. The exoneration came after the complainant recanted her accusation, saying she had lied because she wanted attention while she was in juvenile custody on an unrelated matter.

In July 2004, the complainant alleged that May had sexually assaulted her in February 2004. She made the allegation in July 2004 at a time that May was in the news because he and two other men had been charged with a quadruple murder in McKinney in March of that year. On July 15, 2004, the murder charges against May and the two other men were dismissed because of insufficient evidence and the man who accused them recanted his statement.

On August 11, 2004, May was among several others who were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of distributing narcotics in McKinney. On October 7, 2004, May was indicted on the charge of sexual assault of a child.

On July 10, 2005, May pled guilty in federal court to drug distribution charges. On September 29, 2005, May was sentenced to 22½ years in prison.

On May 25, 2006, May pled guilty in Collin County Criminal District Court to the sexual assault charge. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

In October 2007, Raul Cortez and Eddie Ray Williams were charged with capital murder for the quadruple murder that May and two other men had once been charged with committing. Cortez ultimately was convicted and sentenced to death. Williams pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Cortez’s brother, Javier, was convicted of weapons charges relating to the quadruple murder.

In June 2017, the complainant in the sexual assault case signed a sworn statement recanting her claim. She subsequently recorded a video during which she recanted her accusation. She said that she had made the accusation while she was in juvenile detention for an assault on a public servant, an assault on a family member, and a probation violation. By that time, May had been released from federal prison and was required to register as a sex offender.

In October 2021, May’s attorney, James Whalen, filed a state law petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking to overturn May’s sex assault conviction.

In November 2021, the Collin County District Attorney’s Office filed a response agreeing that the complainant’s recantation was credible. In December 2021, Judge Tom Nowack recommended to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that the writ be granted.

In February 2022, the Court of Criminal Appeals remanded the case back to the District Court for a hearing to allow the complainant to testify.

At the hearing, the complainant testified that she was in a counseling session in juvenile detention when she made the claim against May. She said she accused May because she saw a television news report about him being accused of the quadruple murder.

“I was in a dark space and I wanted–I was looking for attention from my family,” she testified. “My dad wasn’t in my life. I just wanted him to be a part of my life.” She said she was “haunted” by what she had done and was embarrassed for having made the false claim.

Stephen Miller, who was May’s attorney at the time, testified that he advised May to plead guilty to the sexual assault charge because his 10-year sentence would be served concurrently with his federal sentence and would “get him off the radar” of the continuing police investigation of the then-still unsolved quadruple murder.

In June 2022, Judge Nowack sent supplemental findings to the Court of Criminal Appeals, again recommending that May’s conviction be vacated. Judge Nowack also ordered that May’s duty to register as a sex offender be suspended.

John R. Rolater Jr., a Collin County Assistant District Attorney in the District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, agreed to the findings and recommended that the conviction be vacated.

On September 7, 2022, the Court of Criminal Appeals granted the writ and vacated May’s conviction. On October 11, 2022, the prosecution dismissed the case.

Posting Date: 07-02-2026