CALEDONIA  — A southeastern Minnesota man who was wrongfully convicted of child sex abuse will be compensated $475,000 under a new state law.

Roger Lee Olsen, 50, will receive the settlement for the two years he spent in the Stillwater Correctional Facility after he was convicted in Houston County of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, his attorney Steve Meshbesher said Tuesday.

Olsen was released from prison in 2008 when investigators found evidence that his accuser lied about the incident.

Olsen is among three men who will receive monetary compensation for their time incarcerated, as well as emotional distress and injuries, under a new state law.

Koua Fong Lee was convicted of vehicular homicide after his car in 2006 suddenly accelerated, rear-ending another vehicle and killing three people. He was freed three years later after it was determined that the crash wasn’t his fault.

Michael Ray Hansen served nearly seven years in prison for murder in his infant daughter’s death before the conviction was overturned after it was determined that her skull fracture occurred when she accidentally fell from a shopping cart.

Olsen currently lives in his hometown of La Crescent. He suffers from post-traumatic stress, and his mental and physical health have declined, according to Meshbesher.

“He hurts,” Meshbesher said. “It’s very difficult for him mentally and emotionally. No amount of money is going to compensate him for that . It’s not going to right the wrong.”

A final determination of the payment to Olsen was made by a three-person panel of judges and attorneys, Meshbesher said. The settlement will be presented to the state Legislature for final approval, as required by law, before the state’s Office of Management and Budget disperse the money.

“Hopefully that money can be used in a way that can help him cope with these problems, psychological problems he is having because they are deep,” Meshbesher said.

“You can feel his hurt when he talks, when he talks you can feel it. There’s no question that everyone feels bad.”