A man who was imprisoned for 14 years, for sex crimes with a 9-year-old girl, is now free after his conviction was overturned.

The Alameda County Superior Court overturned the wrongful conviction of Johnny Williams on March 8 after new DNA evidence proved his innocence.

The Northern California Innocence Project and the California DNA project at Santa Clara University School of Law worked together to get the conviction overturned and clear Williams' name.

"We are thrilled the state has recognized Johnny's innocence and cleared his name," said Linda Starr, NCIP's legal director. "Of the 303 innocent people exonerated by post-conviction DNA testing, nearly 75 percent involved eyewitness misidentification. Thus, in cases relying almost exclusively on eyewitnesses, we've learned that DNA evidence is the only way to conclusively prove innocence."

Williams was convicted in June 2000 of sexually accosting a 9-year-old girl as she walked home from school and then attempted to rape her the following day. The victim said the suspect identified himself as Johnny.

Williams was neighbor of the victim and familiar with her family and people close to the victim suggested he could be the suspect.

When the victim first reported the assault she did not say she knew the attacker, thus suggesting a stranger.

One week after the attack, the Oakland Police Department collected the clothes the victim wore during the assault. Forensic tests at the time of trial were unable to confirm biological evidence and no DNA testing was performed.

Williams was convicted of two counts of forcible lewd conduct against a child and one count of attempted rape.

In 2012, NCIP re-tested the victim's T-shirt and found enough biological material to yield a complete male DNA profile that excluded Williams as the attacker.

"To be convicted of such a terrible crime and spend 14 years in prison, labeled a sex offender, is a nightmare most people could never imagine," said Melissa Dague O'Connell, Williams' lead attorney with CDP. "Without DNA evidence, we would not have been able to prove his innocence."

"Something terrible happened to that little girl and I hope they find the person who did it," Williams said after the ruling. "I am thankful people finally know the truth about me so that I can rebuild my life."

This is the second innocent person NCIP has exonerated in 2013 and its 16th victory since its creation in 2001.