Manuel Gramajo is a Guatemalan who speaks no English, a language barrier that may have contributed to the loss of nearly a month of his freedom.

The 27-year-old Doraville construction worker spent Thanksgiving in jail, but he is free for Christmas, thanks to the efforts of a local attorney who helps coordinate legal defense for those who can't afford it.

Peachtree City attorney Judy Chidester says that Gramajo was charged with kidnapping along with two other suspects, in a Nov. 4 incident on Ga. Highway 74 south. Police reports stated that a 17-year-old female was running along the highway about 1:15 a.m. and was spotted by an off-duty Tyrone police officer.

Chief James Murray said the woman told the officer that she had been walking along Hwy. 74 when the suspects stopped to offer a ride. She declined, the victim said, and was then forced into a pickup truck and taken to a construction site, according to police reports.

Chidester noted that at a preliminary hearing last week, charges were dropped against Gramajo, who had spent about 25 days in Fayette County jail under a $44,050 bond, which he could not meet.

"I have to believe that part of the reason for this happening," Chidester said, "is that our county lacks adequate language services in the police and court systems. It's so rare for charges to be dropped at a preliminary hearing, that I have to believe if Mr. Gramajo could have made himself understood, and had been able to comprehend the charges, he could have told the police that he had nothing to do with anything that may have happened to the woman in this case."

Chidester explained that Gramajo and Audencio Reyes, who is charged with kidnapping sexual battery in the case, work for a Stone Mountain construction firm. Gramajo apparently was not aware of everything that happened at his Nov. 30 hearing, she said, despite an available translator and the efforts of Chidester's Spanish-speaking secretary.

"When the hearing was over," Chidester said, "he held out his hands to the deputy, as if he expected to be handcuffed again. We finally got across to him that he was free to go, and he was kissing my hand and crying."

Peachtree City police still have a warrant for the arrest of Jario Masariego, 21, also of Doraville, on charges of kidnapping and sexual battery.