Selfie clears Central Texas man accused of assaulting ex-girlfriend

A Central Texas man is cleared of charges after a selfie posted to Facebook placed him at a different location from the home where a woman accused him of attacking her with a box cutter.

ABC Austin affiliate KVUE reports prosecutors have dismissed the case against 21 year-old Christopher Precopia after prosecutors were presented with evidence by his attorney that proved Precopia’s alibi.

On the morning of September 22, 2017, Precopia was arrested while working at a lumber yard in Georgetown, Texas. He had no clue why at the time, just that he was possibly facing 99 years in prison.

KVUE reports he would later find out that a woman living in Temple, Texas, accused Precopia of allegedly breaking into her home and slashing an “X” across her chest with a box cutter at around 7:20 P.M. on September 20, 2017

In addition, Precopia’s accuser was a girl he dated several years earlier in high school and had since lost contact with. She would later tell police her and Precopia had a troubled relationship when they were together, which was allegedly the reason she reported the assault.

“I had no idea why everything was happening, and I was lost,” Precopia told reporters.

Precopia was booked into the Williamson County Jail on a felony charge of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit other crimes.

After his parents posted the $150,000 bond, Precopia began looking for ways to prove his innocence. That’s when his mother, Erin Precopia, realized something significant about the date of the alleged attack,

“I’m thinking, ‘this is awesome. By the grace of God, she said it happened on the day when I can say totally, 100 percent, where he was at,” Erin Precopia said.

Erin Precopia’s reaction came when she remembered her and her son were at a hotel in Northwest Austin on the night of the alleged attack, about 65 miles and over an hour drive from the home of the accuser.

Metadata from a Facebook post by Erin Precopia showed Christoper was with her at the hotel at 7:02 P.M.. With the location tag, time stamp, and photographic evidence of the post, Precopia could now prove his alibi.

KVUE reports that after his attorney presented the evidence, Precopia’s felony charge was dropped by Bell County Prosecutors “in the interest of justice.”

This came as a huge relief for Precopia, who is now ready to move forward from the case.

“I’m ready to actually live my life, the way I want to, without having any kind of worry that this can come back and hurt me,” Precopia said.

According to KVUE, the accuser has not been charged with a crime and Temple Police declined to comment on the handling of the case.