5 INVESTIGATES preview: ‘Out of Time’

A prosecutor in southern Minnesota sat on criminal cases involving drunk driving and domestic assault for years.

5 INVESTIGATES found dozens of those cases expired, meaning they can no longer be charged.

They are criminal cases that sat untouched in the city attorney’s office in Fairmont for so long the law says case closed; you can’t take it to court due to the statute of limitations.

That means those involved in the cases are now out of time.

People like Nicole Dawson are fed up with what 5 INVESTIGATES found.

Dawson was the victim in a domestic assault from 2013 and Fairmont police requested her boyfriend at the time be charged for it.

However, the case sat on the city attorney’s desk for years until it was too late.

When asked whether she thinks city officials owe her an explanation, Dawson said, "I think the city owes a lot of people an explanation, not just me. It makes me mad. I wish someone would have done something. I wish someone would have stuck up for me."

Dawson’s case is among dozens that had to be tossed out in Fairmont because the clock ran out.

On 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., Investigative Reporter Ryan Raiche shares how the city got to this point and what officials are saying about the expired cases.