Wichita ? A man mistakenly jailed in Colorado and Kansas for a month can’t sue Sedgwick County or its sheriff, a federal judge has ruled.

Francisco J. Reyes, of Kansas City, Kan., was held for a month in 2005 after authorities mistakenly matched him to a man wanted in a baby’s rape.

In dismissing Reyes’ lawsuit on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil of Kansas City, Kan., said Reyes can’t sue Sedgwick County commissioners or Sheriff Gary Steed because he failed to tell authorities that he wasn’t the man wanted on rape charges.

But Reyes’ attorney, Kurt Kerns, said records show Reyes repeatedly told authorities that they had the wrong man, but no one bothered to check his story, keeping him in jail for two weeks in Colorado and two weeks in Wichita.

In her decision, Vratil agreed with the county’s attorney, Art Chalmers, that “there is no clearly established constitutional right to a post-arrest investigation.”

According to evidence admitted during the lawsuit, a Colorado Highway Patrol trooper stopped Reyes for speeding on Nov. 18, 2005. The trooper matched Reyes’ name to a man with a similar name wanted in the rape of an 11-month-old girl in Wichita.

According to the evidence, authorities in Colorado didn’t compare fingerprints or mug shots, which would have shown Reyes was not man they wanted. No one checked them once Reyes returned to Kansas, either.

The real wanted man, meanwhile, was arrested on a minor charge, then set free, in Florida.

Reyes was released on Dec. 15, 2005, after his attorneys showed that he wasn’t the right man.

Kerns said he plans to file an appeal of Vratil’s decision on Monday. He said Reyes deserves to have a jury decide if his civil rights were violated.

“You can be thrown in a cage, held for a month, where nobody listens to you or even bothers to look at photos or mug shots or the actual rapist to compare,” Kerns said.