CHRIS CUOMO REPORTS ON A FALSE ACCUSATION BY ONE WOMAN
THAT CHANGED THE LIVES OF TWO PEOPLE FOREVER
"Blind Love" -- Ashleigh Banfield Tells the Story of
One Woman's Life-Changing Experience, on Tonight's "20/20"
Tonight, Friday, April 23, ABC NEWS' "20/20" has the story of one woman's false allegation that changed the lives of two people forever. It was the summer of 2005 when Biurny Peguero was out for a night of partying with her friends. It was also the night that she first encountered William McCaffrey, whom she would accuse of raping her. In a case based almost solely on his word against Peguero's, McCaffrey was convicted of the attack and sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security prison. But Peguero's guilty conscience would haunt her for years, until she finally confessed to her priest that she had fabricated the charges against Williams. Determined to set him free, no matter what the cost to herself, Peguero came forward with the truth, and as a result, four years into McCaffrey's sentence, he was exonerated � but now Peguero is serving time. After she finishes her prison sentence, she also faces possible deportation, leaving her husband and two young sons. Shockingly, despite the consequences, Peguero feels at peace for the first time in years. And McCaffrey now forgives her for sending him to prison for a crime that never happened. Chris Cuomo talks with McCaffrey for this "20/20" report, and also sits down for an exclusive interview with Peguero, in which she recounts the events and details of an evening that changed two lives forever.
Then, in a segment entitled "Blind Love," Ashleigh Banfield tells the story of 27-year-old Chrissy Steltz, who talks about the shotgun blast that almost killed her when she was accidentally shot at point blank range at age 16. Steltz opens up for a candid and personal interview with Banfield in which she shares details about the moment that shattered her life, a moment that robbed this young woman of her senses of sight and smell, and almost all of her sense of taste. Steltz tells Banfield how she copes with everyday life, as well as how she celebrates the joys of her life, her husband and their eight-month-old son, Geoffrey.
"20/20" airs tonight, APRIL 23, from 10:00-11:00 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.
Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo are the co-anchors of ABC News' "20/20." David Sloan is the executive producer.
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