A federal jury ruled that a man who spent nearly two years in jail before child molestation charges were dropped, was so traumatized by his incarceration that the statute of limitations did not apply to his claims against Gwinnett County and a daycare center where an employee told the alleged victim’s father she had been molested.

The verdict clears the way for more litigation on underlying claims including false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and defamation against the Gwinnett Police Department, La Petite Academy and the child’s father to proceed, but it took five years and two trips to a federal appeals court to clear the threshold issue of standing.