Opinion ID: 1251515
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Recantations of Nyari's Daughters

Text: Nyari's inclusion in the central registry and his failure to appear at the DSS hearing do not preclude him from demonstrating that he is a person of good moral character. Additionally, in support of his appeal of the CIS's denial of his naturalization application in 2005, Nyari submitted sworn statements from both of his daughters in which they claimed that Nyari had never sexually abused them and that they had been coerced into falsely accusing him. Nyari also submitted a letter from his younger daughter, dated October 14, 1999, in which she denied that Nyari had sexually abused her and claimed that she was pressured by social workers in her school counselor's office into accusing Nyari. Nyari's younger daughter was 19 years old when she wrote the letter and 25 years old when Nyari submitted the letter. In support of his motion for summary judgment, Nyari submitted affidavits from his daughters in which they again recanted their prior allegations and explained why they had lied when they were young children. Specifically, Nyari's daughters stated that their parents had a very poor relationship at the time, that their mother lied to a social worker about Nyari, and that they were called into a counselor's office at school and pressured into claiming that Nyari had sexually abused them. They emphasized in their affidavits that Nyari is a good father who has never sexually or physically abused them. Nyari's own affidavit submitted in support of his motion for summary judgment is consistent with his daughters' recantations. It is well established that courts should neither weigh evidence nor make credibility determinations when ruling on a motion for summary judgment. See, e.g., Kenney v. Swift Transp., Inc., 347 F.3d 1041, 1044 (8th Cir.2003). The district court stated that Nyari's delayed protestations of innocence and the subsequent recantations by Nyari's daughters carry little weight in light of his failure to contest DSS's conclusion that the sexual abuse allegations were founded. Assessing evidentiary weight and credibility are not ordinarily consistent with a ruling on a summary judgment motion. We have recognized that summary judgment may be granted when a party's sudden and unexplained revision of testimony creates an issue of fact where none existed before, Wilson v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 838 F.2d 286, 289 (8th Cir.1988), and when a party creates sham issues by contradicting previous testimony, Camfield Tires, Inc. v. Michelin Tire Corp., 719 F.2d 1361, 1366 (8th Cir.1983). But Nyari presented the district court with evidence that his daughters long ago recanted their sexual abuse allegations and have consistently explained that they made the accusations under pressure. Indeed, the multiple recantations of Nyari's daughters are consistent with one another and set forth a plausible justification for why they falsely accused Nyari when they were young children. Their recantations create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Nyari sexually abused them. For the foregoing reasons, we hold that the district court erred in granting the government's motion for summary judgment.