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Dan Rassier, 53, of St. Joseph says he is suing the Stearns County Sheriff for naming him a person of interest in the 1989 kidnapping of Jacob Wetterling.

It ruined his reputation to be wrongly accused in the high-profile case, Rassier said at a press conference on Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.

He accused Sheriff John Sanner of ignoring evidence from the FBI gathered shortly after the abduction that pointed to Danny Heinrich — who eventually confessed to the crime. Heinrich was 

sentenced this week to 20 years in prison

 on a child pornography charge after admitting to abducting and killing Jacob.

27 years of agony in Jacob Wetterling case

In 2010, Sanner publicly named Rassier, a neighbor to the Wetterlings, a person of interest in the case. 

Being investigated for the crime without any evidence, Rassier said, was a nightmare for his family.

"The stress is unbearable," he said. "It was unbearable for my dad, and we really believe that he died an early death because of the stress."

Rassier previously told MPR News that he planned to sue law enforcement, and that police treated him like a killer for years — until Heinrich 

Wrongly suspected, Wetterling neighbor says cops treated him unjustly

, secretly recorded him, dove into his love life and 

Separate suit targets Sanner on similar claims

Another man also announced his intention to file a lawsuit against Sanner on Wednesday, saying he was wrongly accused in a separate case.

Ryan Larson was arrested in connection with the 

2012 killing of Cold Spring police officer Tom Decker

, but authorities later declared him not a suspect.

Larson, who accused Sanner of violating his constitutional rights in a wrongful arrest, says he received death threats and suffers from PTSD.

"If there's accountability taken on the part of Stearns County," Larson said, "I think it will definitely help in preventing it from happening again. The ordeal I went through, I wouldn't wish it upon anybody."

Correction (Dec. 5, 2016): A caption in an earlier version of this story misidentified Devon M. Jacob. 

Crime, Law and Justice

NewsPartners

The Jacob Wetterling abduction

Matt Sepic

Author

Dan Rassier, 53, said it ruined his reputation to be wrongly accused in the high-profile case.

Daniel Rassier speaks at a press conference.

Former 'person of interest' in Wetterling case to sue sheriff

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