The accuser, a police officer, stood accused Friday as a Colorado detective answers charges he lied in the case that wrongfully sent a man to prison nine years ago to serve a life sentence.

The city and county have paid the wrongfully convicted man a combined $10 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit related to the conviction, but they painted the payouts as business decisions rather than reparations.

The convicted man was 15 when Fort Collins police began investigating him in the 1987 murder, the woman’s mutilated body was found in a field near the home the boy shared with his father.

Twelve years later, he was convicted, largely on circumstantial evidence and the testimony of an expert witness who said he fit the profile of a sexual predator. Then he was cleared by DNA evidence and released from prison in 2008. The crime remains unsolved.

A new investigation by Weld County District Attorney into the previously exonerated detective has now yielded an eight-count felony perjury indictment against the officer.

If convicted, the police officer could face nearly 50 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. Each felony perjury count for making false statements under oath carries a sentence of up to six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

The Fort Collins Police Department also has reopened its internal investigation. The officer is on paid administrative leave. He was deemed a “no flight” risk and released on his own recognizance without a bail bond,