LOS ANGELES (Reuters), – Alice Sebold has publicly apologized to a man she wrongly convicted of raping 40 years ago. The attack was the inspiration for her 1999 memoir, “Lucky.”

After the case had been reopened, Anthony Broadwater was released by New York’s court. He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.

After Sebold mistakenly identified him five months earlier as the attacker, he was sentenced in 1982.

Sebold stated in a Medium statement that she is “truly sorry” to Anthony Broadwater. She also expressed deep regret for what they had been through.

Sebold was the author of best-seller “The Lovely Bones.” She said that she believed in the U.S. legal systems as an 18-year old traumatized girl.

Although I’m grateful for Mr. Broadwater’s conviction, it is still a fact that 40 years ago, he was another victim of our broken legal system. Sebold stated that he would never forget what he had done.

She added, “I will continue my struggle with the unwitting role I played in a system which sent an innocent man into jail,”

Sebold began her career by writing “Lucky,” her first book about rape.

Variety published last week that funding had dried up and work was stopped on “Lucky” for an independent adaptation.