American author Alice Sebold has apologised for her part in the wrongful conviction of a man who was cleared last week of raping her in 1981. In her memoir Lucky, she described being raped and later telling police she had seen a black man in the street who she believed was her attacker.

In a statement to The Associated Press, which was later posted on Medium, Sebold apologized to Broadwater for her role in his conviction. She wrote that as a "traumatized 18-year-old rape victim," she chose to put her faith in the legal system.

A statement from Mr Broadwater, released via his lawyers, said he was "relieved that she has apologised". In Ms Sebold's apology statement, she said: "I am sorry most of all for the fact that the life you could have led was unjustly robbed from you, and I know that no apology can change what happened to you and never will".

Alice Sebold, the author of bestselling book “The Lovely Bones” and memoir “ Lucky,” has apologized to Anthony Broadwater, the man she misidentified as her rapist 40 years ago. In a Medium post, she wrote, “First, I want to say that I am truly sorry to Anthony Broadwater and I deeply regret what you have been through.