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Notes and Documentation: Cover page | Topical Index

Cases of False Accusation
of Child Sexual Abuse

Compiled by Marshall Burns, Ph.D.

Additional background for False Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse

A collection of 159 cases of claims that innocent people have been falsely accused of sexually molesting children, along with, where available, court documents and reputable news reports and analyses.

For statistics on these case and a discussion of their significance, see False Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse.

 

Contents
   Listing of Information on 159 Cases
  Explanatory Notes on the Listing

 

Listing of Information on 159 Cases

2006


John Greene et al. — Melbourne, Australia — June 10, 2006
Vigilante murder

Codie Jeffrey Jakeman “wanted to kill all pedophiles and rid the world of them” And he believed his neighbors, John Greene and Kathryn Hogg, were pedophiles. So he invited them over to his house to help with his renovations, and then he killed them.1

  • Location: Melbourne, Australia
  • 2 Claimed Innocent: John Philemon Greene (59), Kathryn Hogg (his wife, 46)
  • Accusations: Being pedophiles
  • Outcome: Murdered1
  • Dates: June 10, 20061
  • Latest information: June 8, 20071
Source:
  1. Man 'thought neighbours were pedophiles', News Network (Australia), June 8, 2007


James Perry — Oakland County, Michigan, US — February 2006 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment

“Perry, a kindergarten teacher, was convicted of sexually assaulting two boys, ages 4 and 5 based on the boys’ testimony. The complaint began when the mother of the 5-year-old complained her son had been "tea-bagged" – slang for oral sex. She also said her son had been the victim of a similar assault in Chicago. Under questioning, the 5-year-old identified Perry and said he was only fondled, but said another boy, the 4-year-old, had been "tea-bagged." The 4-year-old initially denied being assaulted.

“At trial, the boys claimed to have been pulled from a lunch line and assaulted in an empty Special Education classroom during lunchtime. However, post-conviction interviews with school personnel indicate that the classroom always contained students who do not go out for lunch, and at least one teacher to watch over them.”1

  • Location: Oakland County, Michigan
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: James Perry
  • Accusations: Sexually assault two boys in his school, aged 4 and 5
  • Outcome: Sentence: Up to life (not yet sentenced)
  • Dates: Incident: October 20052, Arrest: February 20062, Conviction: September 20062, Sentence: November 9, 20062
  • Latest information: November 1, 20062
Source:
  1. James Perry by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, March 2007
  2. Lawyer to seek new trial or dismissal of charges, Detroit Free Press, November 1, 2006
Listed in: VotS


Veda’s Learning Center — Queens, New York, US — 2006 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

Khemwatie Bedessie was convicted of “raping and sexually abusing a 4-year-old boy she had been babysitting.”1 But the basis for convicting the immigrant day care worker with poor command of the English language, her videotaped confession, is “highly dubious.”1

  • Location: Queens, New York at Facility: Veda’s Learning Center
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Khemwatie Bedessie
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse a 4-year-old boy
  • Outcome: Sentence: Up to 25 years
  • Dates: Arrest: 20061, Conviction: June 20071
  • Problems: Tainted confession. “The police detective, she said, told her he had a tape of her assaulting the child. He told her she could go free if she confessed, but if she didn’t, she would be brutalized at Rikers [prison].”1
         Poor evidence. “no physical evidence of abuse”1
  • Latest information: June 20071
Source:
  1. Watching the Detectives by Debbie Nathan and Emily Horowitz, New York Times, June 24, 2007 (Op-ed)
  2. Day Care Accusation: Is Khemwatie Bedessie Innocent?, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.), June 25, 2007 (2 Web pages)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons

2005


David Hicks — Charleston, West Virginia, US — February 17, 2005 (charges)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

Melissa Hicks did not mention any sexual improprieties during the divorce proceedings against her husband, David. But after she was not granted custody of their two daughters, he became the pariah of the neighborhood and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for alleged misdeeds with various little girls.

  • Location: Charleston, West Virginia
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: David Hicks
  • Accusations: Take pictures of his daughter's friends naked, touch them inappropriately, rub his erect penis on one girl's buttocks, sexually molest her in an outdoor shower when she was 9, and possess thousands of images and movies of child pornography1
  • Outcome: Sentence: 30 years4, Other: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 2005
  • Dates: Incident: 20041, Charges: February 17, 2005 [Indictment, from case docket], Trial: January 18, 20074, Conviction: January 23, 20074, Sentence: November 2, 20074
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. “These children have been bullied into believing what the prosecution has drilled into their heads.”3
         Poor evidence. Of the two pornographic photos presented in evidence, no one testified that Hicks made them and testimony was presented that he did not make both and may not have made either one.2 “… evidence of David not even being at home when files were downloaded to his computer wasn't even taken into consideration.”3
         Break-up dispute. “If [his ex-wife] was aware, as she claims of all of these charges, why was the judge in the divorce hearing not told about this?”3
  • Latest information: November 2, 20074
Source:
  1. USA v. David Hicks: United States Sentencing Memorandum, US District Court (Charleston, West Virginia), April 5, 2007
  2. Sentencing Memorandum on Behalf of David A. Hicks, US District Court (Charleston, West Virginia), April 12, 2007
  3. Letters in support of David Hicks, US District Court (Charleston, West Virginia), April 12, 2007
  4. West Virginia Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison On Child Pornography Charges, US Department of Justice, November 2, 2007

2004


Dominique Wiel et al. — Outreau, France — May 2004 (trial)
Prosecution with imprisonment, suicide

“The verdicts left France stunned and bewildered. How could an investigating magistrate — that pivotal figure of French criminal justice — have made such blunders? And how could his errors have gone unnoticed for so long? In a letter of apology to the defendants, President Chirac described the affair as a "disaster", and promised reform to prevent a similar miscarriage of justice in the future.”1

  • Location: Outreau3, France
  • 16 Claimed Innocent: Dominique Wiel (priest), Unemployed couple, Bailiff, Bailiff's wife, Taxi driver, 11 others (whole group ages 24..67)3,7
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse 18 children, aged three to 12, from 1995 until 2000, including fondle and rape them and force them to perform sex acts and watch pornographic films3,7
  • Outcome: One committed suicide in jail. One declared unfit for trial. Seventeen went on trial, 11 men and six women.3 Ten convicted. Six convictions overturned on appeal. The Delays, Delplanque, and Grenon convicted and remain in prison.8, Incarcerated: For those acquitted on appeal, three years1
  • Dates: Investigation: December 20003, Trial: May 20043
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. “During the appeal, psychologists and social workers admitted that their original findings were flawed.”8
         Judicial misconduct. A judge said, “There are areas which are almost sacred like paedophilia and terrorism where there is no room for the presumption of innocence.”7
         Recanted testimony. “I'm sick, I'm a liar, I lied about everything.” 5 Two children also said they had made up their stories.8
  • Latest information: April 20061
Source:
 • Analysis from the mainstream press
  1. Paedophile case that could bring down the Napoleonic system — Fabrice Burgaud thought his investigation into child abuse would be the case of the century. It may be, but not in the way he expected — Times (London, England), April 4, 2006
 • Analysis from the Internet community
  2. Outreau trial, Wikipedia
 • News reports
  3. Child rape trial opens in France — Seventeen people have gone on trial in northern France on charges of gang raping 18 children, aged three to 12, over a period of five years. — BBC News (United Kingdom), May 4, 2004
  4. Mother admits raping her children — A mother-of-four at the centre of a child rape case in northern France involving 18 children has confessed in court to raping her own children. — BBC News (United Kingdom), May 5, 2004
  5. France child sex case in disarray — The trial of 13 people in northern France on charges of child rape has been thrown into disarray after two of the defendants admitted they lied. — BBC News (United Kingdom), May 19, 2004
  6. Acquittal call in France sex case — The prosecution in a high-profile paedophile case in northern France has called for seven acquittals and prison terms for the other defendants. — BBC News (United Kingdom), June 25, 2004
  7. Outreau puts French justice in question — One of France's highest-profile sex abuse case in years has ended with guilty verdicts against 10 people, but with accusations of an even wider paedophile ring not proved. — BBC News (United Kingdom), July 2, 2004
  8. Collapse of child sex case shakes French courts, Telegraph (United Kingdom), December 2, 2005

2003


Ian Campbell et al. — Isle of Lewis, Scotland, UK — October 3, 2003 (arrest)
Prosecution with charges dropped

Living in an abusive and neglectful home, three sisters in Scotland were occasionally removed to foster care, and were permanently removed in 2001, when they were approximately eight, ten, and twelve years old. Although there had been serious allegations of neglect and physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, there had been no criminal charges laid. In late 2002, one of the sisters told a foster parent that she had been sexually abused by adults who visited her parents' home. This led to a series of interviews with the girls and their mother for several months, in which increasingly wild stories were told of orgies and devil-worshipping animal sacrifice. On the basis of these interviews, a set of simultaneous, early morning police raids were conducted on seven homes in Scotland and England in October 2003. Thirteen people were arrested on suspicion of abusing the three girls. Charges were publicly announced against seven of them, as well as two others. Although there was compelling evidence of malicious physical injury to the girls and nothing sexual, the charges were specifically for sexual abuse and nothing else. When the accused were release on bail, there were several instances of vigilante mob attacks on their homes and families. Abruptly, in July 2004, the prosecutors dropped all charges.

The police were criticized for rounding up a dozen people without any evidence of wrong-doing except the word of an accusing family. A formal investigation was conducted by a government social work agency, which submitted a 162-page report about the handling of the case. It went into great detail about the conditions in which the girls had grown up and the abusive behavior they both endured and exhibited. It also gave a similar rendition about the living conditions in the family home of one of the married couples that had been arrested in the police raids.

Prepared by a social work agency, the report focused on the care provided to the children involved in the case. It concluded that the government “should have acted sooner to protect the children.”13[¶ 13, pg 5] The report specifically avoided any comment on the criminal investigation and prosecution. Civil lawsuits have been alluded to both by the girls against their alleged abusers16 and by the accused against the government for false arrest and imprisonment.9

  • Location: Isle of Lewis, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Scotland
  • 9 Claimed Innocent: Ian (37) and Penny Campbell (40), John (67) and Sue Sellwood, A grandmother (75) (3), Peter (58) and Mary Anne Nelson (his daughter, 37) 7[1st linked pg], The girls' uncle5, 1 other13
  • Accusations: Rape three girls, as well as “lewd and libidinous and indecent practices and behaviour” with them, and make pornography of them13[¶ 11, pg 4] (SRA1,7,10)
  • Outcome: All charges dropped7[2nd pg]
  • Dates: Arrest: October 3, 20038,13[¶ 315, pg 105], Exoneration: July 1, 20047[2nd pg]9,13[¶ 349, pg 115]
  • Problems: “[A] forensic criminologist who has examined the evidence on behalf of those accused, said that the charges derived from a series of unsubstantiated assumptions made by the police and social services.”9
  • Latest information: November 20053,5
Source:
 • Analysis from the mainstream press
  1. 'We were accused of raping little girls, having orgies, killing cats — The full story of the families whose lives were shattered when they were falsely accused of abusing children on a remote Scottish island; For the past nine months Vicky Allan has been talking to the families accused and finally cleared of being involved in the ritual abuse of children on Lewis. This is their story — Herald (United Kingdom), July 11, 2004
  2. 'It was like a witch hunt', Guardian, July 16, 2004
  3. Special Investigation, Daily Mail (United Kingdom), October 15, 2005
 • Analysis from a local citizens’ group
  4. Lewisgate, False Allegations Action Scotland
  5. Western Isles: Falsely accused remain demoralised., False Allegations Action Scotland, November 2005
 • Analysis from the Internet community
  6. The island of Lewis in Scotland, in 2003 and again in 2005 by Diane Vera, Theistic Satanism
  7. M.V.M.O. Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) hoax: Island of Lewis, Scotland by Bruce Robinson, Religious Tolerance, July 9, 2004 (Updated April 29, 2006. 4 Web pages)
 • Case documents and news reports
  8. Police charge seven in Western Isles child sex inquiry, Telegraph (United Kingdom), October 4, 2003
  9. Parents cleared of child abuse to sue police, Telegraph (United Kingdom), July 4, 2004
  10. No peace for the accused after Lewis ritual abuse case dropped, Herald (United Kingdom), July 4, 2004
  11. Orkney expert slams Lewis ’sex abuse’ fiasco, Herald (United Kingdom), July 11, 2004
  12. Probe into collapsed abuse case — Independent experts have been called in by Western Isles Council to assess its handling of a child abuse inquiry which collapsed. — BBC News, July 13, 2004
  13. An inspection into the care and protection of children in Eilean Siar, Social Work Inspection Agency, August 2005
  14. Island strife, Times (London, England), August 7, 2005
  15. Care Workers 'Failed Victims of Child Abuse', Times (London, England), August 7, 2005
  16. Lewis victims plan private prosecution, Herald (United Kingdom), October 9, 2005
Listed in: OCRT


James LeCraw et al. — Toronto, Ontario, Canada — April 2003 (arrest)
Prosecution with charges dropped, suicide

“Toronto police [publicly] named James LeCraw as one of six men charged [in] a Canada-wide investigation into child pornography on the internet. [LeCraw] was charged with using his credit card to download child pornography. After further investigation, the charges against him were eventually withdrawn, as they were against two other men named that day. A fourth man named was never even charged. [LeCraw] never recovered from the stigma of being [falsely] associated with child porn. In debt and depressed, [he] killed himself [the following year].”1

  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 6 Claimed Innocent: James LeCraw, 5 others
  • Accusations: Buy child pornography on the Internet
  • Outcome: LeCraw: Charges dropped. Lost job and friends, killed himself in July 2004.1, Others: Charges against two of them dropped1
  • Dates: Arrest: April 20031[pg 4], Exoneration: LeCraw: September 23, 20031[pg 4]
  • Problems: Charges against LeCraw may have been dropped when police found his purchases were only of legal, adult porn.
  • Latest information: July 20041
Source:
  1. Naming and Shaming: A brother's tragic tale, CBC News (Canada), July 2004 (Undated; date is month of latest event mentioned)

2002


Brian Cooper et al. — United Kingdom — December 2002 (investigation)
Prosecution with acquittal at trial

“An international investigation of internet-based child pornography has led to accusations against innocent victims of credit card fraud … [or] identity theft … [and others who] made legal purchases of adult pornography.”1

  • Location: United Kingdom
  • 3 Claimed Innocent: Brian Cooper, 2 others
  • Accusations: Buy child pornography on the Internet
  • Outcome: Cooper: Charges dropped, Others: One acquitted at trial. Third man not charged, but stigmatized by investigation. Two men lost their jobs, one his marriage.
  • Dates: Investigation: December 20021
  • Problems: Poor evidence. The men's credit cards had been used to buy the porn. Cooper's card number had been defrauded.
  • Latest information: March 20061
Source:
  1. Global child porn probe led to false accusations, CBC News (Canada), March 14, 2006


Christopher Allen — Troy, New York, US — September 18, 2002 (conviction)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

Christopher Allen was 16 when he visited the home where his 15-year-old girlfriend was babysitting. Two months later, the girl spoke of having been raped that day to an online correspondent, who told the girl's mother, who called the police.

  • Location: Troy, New York
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Christopher Allen (16)
  • Accusations: Rape 15-year-old girlfriend
  • Outcome: Correction: Judgment reversed, Other: In prison pending new trial, Incarcerated: Since 2000
  • Dates: Incident: July 20001, Investigation: September 20001, Conviction: September 18, 20021, Exoneration: December 23, 20041
  • Problems: Poor evidence. The New York Supreme Court reversed the conviction, citing “exclusively testimonial evidence” (i.e., no physical evidence) and the “significant probability that the erroneous admission of this evidence [2-month delayed disclosure as "prompt outcry"] decided the verdict”1
  • Latest information: December 20041
Source:
  1. New York v Christopher Allen, New York State Supreme Court, December 23, 2004


St. Jean L'Evangeliste Catholic Church — Newton, Massachusetts, US — June 2002 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

At 74, Shanley “became one of the highest-profile figures in the Catholic abuse scandal that gripped the state in 2002. But while Shanley’s conviction … was widely interpreted as a closing chapter in the scandal, his case bears classic warning signs of a wrongful conviction.”2

  • Location: Newton, Massachusetts at Facility: St. Jean L'Evangeliste Catholic Church
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Father Paul Shanley
  • Accusations: Fondle and sodomize four boys in the church as often as every week for six years, for three of the boys over the time that they were 6 to 12 years old, starting 19 and ending 13 years prior to the charges
  • Outcome: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 2002
  • Dates: Incident: 19831, Arrest: June 20021
  • Problems: Recovered memory. The four accusers “said they immediately forgot being raped or abused [and] recovered their memories after reading … press coverage of the priests scandal.”1
         Poor evidence. “unsupported by corroborating evidence”1
  • Latest information: September 20041
Source:
  1. The Passion of Father Paul Shanley by JoAnn Wypijewski, Legal Affairs, September 2004
  2. The Case of Father Paul Shanley, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.), June 22, 2005 (5 Web pages)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Onsy Zachary — U.S.A. — 2002 (trial)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, in immigration detention

The NCRJ sponsors this case which means that it has reviewed the case and found the allegations of child sexual abuse baseless. It says such charges were instigated by his brother, on whom he was dependent, in order to get him deported and out of his hair.1 There is no other information provided about the sexual abuse case.1,2

  • Location: U.S.A.
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Onsy Zachary (58)
  • Accusations: Unspecified child sexual abuse
  • Outcome: Served sentence, then held by immigration authorities for deportation1, Incarcerated: 5 years prison, immigration detention since September 20071
  • Dates: Trial: 20021
  • Problems: No case information given.
  • Latest information: March 19, 20082
Source:
  1. Onsy Zachary Press Release, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.), September 20, 2007
  2. Help Stop Deportation to Torture. (Access in March 2008 indicated updated March 19, 2008.)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons

2001


Christian Activity Center — Marietta, Georgia, US — September 6, 2001 (conviction)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

A girl accused her brother of inappropriately touching her. Their mother grilled the boy until eliciting an allegation from him about having been abused himself. The alleged abuser was Gunther Fiek, a popular Taekwondo instructor at the Christian Activity Center, who had taught about 2,000 children without incident over the preceding five years. The boy was taken to a children's advocacy center, where an untrained interviewer told his mother that the allegation was true. The mother then called her friends on the phone in a panic, who called their friends, who interrogated their own children.

Two days later, a father accosted Fiek with accusations of molesting his son and attacked him and his car with a baseball bat. Badly shaken by the incident, he went for a drive in the mountains, where he spent the night. The next morning, the church called parents to the first of three meetings it held that week, in which it announced that Fiek was accused of molesting children and had fled. A therapist was brought in, who suggested the parents question their children further about Fiek. Eventually, 22 students came forward with stories of having been abused by him.

  • Location: Marietta, Georgia at Facility: Christian Activity Center
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Gunther Fiek
  • Accusations: Sexually molest 22 martial arts students
  • Outcome: Sentence: 90 years without parole1, Other: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 2000
  • Dates: Investigation: December 1, 20001, Conviction: September 6, 20011, Sentence: October 21, 20011
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. The children “had been all questioned by their parents several times before accusations were elicited and taken to forensic interviews.”1
  • Latest information: February 20082
Source:
 • Dedicated website
  1. Gunther Fiek: Innocent Victim of Mass Hysteria, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.) (6 Web pages)
  2. Status as of February 2008, National Center for Reason and Justice
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Timothy Smith — Covington, Kentucky, US — 2001 (trial)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

“Smith was charged and convicted of sodomy after his teenage daughter, Katie, claimed repressed memories of abuse. His other daughters had denied such abuse. In 2006, his conviction was overturned because of failure of his counsel to challenge the prosecution expert who backed up Katie's story. The expert had obtained a doctorate in an unaccredited online school. Katie Smith died in 2005 after attacking Sarah Brady, who was 9-months pregnant, with a knife. Brady managed to grab the knife and turned it on Smith. Police concluded Brady acted in self-defense.”1

  • Location: Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Timothy Smith
  • Accusations: Sodomize his teenage daughter
  • Outcome: Correction: Conviction overturned2, Other: In prison awaiting prosecutor's decision whether to retry.2, Incarcerated: Since 2001
  • Dates: Investigation: 20002, Trial: 20012, Exoneration: March 29, 20062
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. The prosecution's expert witness had a doctorate from an unaccredited online school.2
         Recovered memory. One daughter claimed repressed memories of abuse. His other daughters had no such memories.2
  • Latest information: March 31, 20062
Source:
  1. Timothy Smith by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, September 2006
  2. Judge throws out Ky. sodomy conviction, Associated Press, March 31, 2006
Listed in: VotS

2000


James Krivacska — U.S.A. — 2000s (est.)
Prosecution

The National Center for Reason and Justice has indicated sponsorship of this case, but lists it as “In development.”1 No case information available.

  • Location: U.S.A.
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: James Krivacska
  • Dates: 2000s (est.)
  • Latest information: March 20081
Source:
  1. N C R J Fiscal Sponsorship, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.). (Access in March 2008 indicated Krivacska case is in development.)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Jorge Sanchez — U.S.A. — 2000s (est.)
Prosecution

The National Center for Reason and Justice has indicated sponsorship of this case, but lists it as “In development.”1 No case information available.

  • Location: U.S.A.
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Jorge Sanchez
  • Dates: 2000s (est.)
  • Latest information: March 20081
Source:
  1. N C R J Fiscal Sponsorship, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.). (Access in March 2008 indicated Sanchez case is in development.)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Victor Rosario — U.S.A. — 2000s (est.)
Prosecution

The National Center for Reason and Justice has indicated sponsorship of this case, but lists it as “In development.”1 No case information available.

  • Location: U.S.A.
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Victor Rosario
  • Dates: 2000s (est.)
  • Latest information: March 20081
Source:
  1. N C R J Fiscal Sponsorship, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.). (Access in March 2008 indicated Rosario case is in development.)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Edward Kramer — Atlanta, Georgia, US — August 2000 (arrest)
Prosecution with long-term house arrest, still under house arrest

Ed Kramer is an odd fellow. An unconventional orthodox Jew who has been described as a cross between Jerry Garcia and Paul Bunyan,3 he started a major science fiction fan conference in conservative Atlanta and enjoyed taking teenaged boys on caving expeditions.2 He was accused by an anonymous phone caller of molesting the sons of a woman he was dating. The boys at first denied anything improper, but eventually relented under insistent questioning by police and their mother.2 As further evidence of his guilt, police reported finding 200 pornographic videos in his home, but they later admitted that none of them were pornographic afterall.3

There is no trial testimony to refute in this case because there has been no trial. After several months in jail awaiting trial, Kramer was released to a strictly enforced and electronically monitored house arrest, which is ongoing as of January 2008. The focus of his case has become alleged civil rights violations that have kept him detained without trial for over seven years.1,4

  • Location: Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Edward Kramer
  • Accusations: Sexually molest two sons, aged 13 and 15, of his girlfriend
  • Outcome: Awaiting trial, Incarcerated: Jail and house arrest continuously since 2000
  • Dates: Investigation: August 24, 20003, Arrest: August 20003
  • Problems: Poor evidence. No physical evidence. "Pornographic" videos seized by police were not pornographic.3
  • Latest information: January 28, 20084
Source:
  1. Edward E. Kramer, Wikipedia
  2. The wizard of Dragon*Con stands trial: The force behind Atlanta's largest sci-fi convention finds himself in his own world of darkness, Creative Loafing (Atlanta, Georgia), January 30, 2002
  3. Truth, Justice, and Ed Kramer, Atlanta Jewish Life, October 2004
  4. Ed Kramer Legal Defense. (Access in March 2008 showed posting dated January 28, 2008.)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Yvette Cloete — Wales, UK — August 2000
Vigilante attack

“Yvette Cloete is a specialist in pediatric medicine at the Royal Gwent Hospital. But to an isolated group of vigilantes, she was obviously a child molester. Pediatric means pedophile, right? These self-appointed defenders of the truth made their position known by spray-painting the doctor's windows and the front door of her home with the word "paedo," an abbreviation of the British spelling "paedophile."”1

  • Location: Wales
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Yvette Cloete (pediatrician)
  • Accusations: Being a pedophile
  • Outcome: House vandalized1
  • Dates: August 20001
  • Latest information: September 20001
Source:
  1. Plain stupid: British vigilantes mistake a pediatrician for a pedophile., Salon, September 26, 2000


Ian Armstrong — Manchester, England, UK — July 23, 2000
Vigilante attack

“Ian Armstrong … told … of his terror at being mistaken by vigilantes for one of the alleged paedophiles named and pictured by the News of the World … It is thought that the fact that Mr Armstrong wears a neck brace led to him being mistaken for a man alleged to be a sex offender … who was pictured by the paper wearing a neck brace. …

“On … the day the list was published, a 300-strong mob … surrounded his house, and later a window of a neighbouring house belonging to his ex-wife was smashed with a brick. … Armstrong … was … afraid for his life and of leaving his … home, as teenagers continued to gather outside to torment him and his children.

“Mr Armstrong … said that people had abused his children, screaming "paedophile's kid, rapist's kid" at them. "It's just a nightmare, I wish I could wake up from it. There are 14 kids outside the house now. They're saying 'we're going to get our dads on you'. Three or four times today, they've backed a six-year-old child halfway down the path to my door shouting 'do you want this one'. Yesterday the mob were shouting 'paedophile, rapist, beast, pervert'.

“"I'm scared of what will happen at nightfall."”1

  • Location: Manchester, England
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Ian Armstrong (49)
  • Accusations: Being a pedophile1
  • Outcome: Attacked by a vigilante mob1
  • Dates: July 23, 20001
  • Latest information: July 20001
Source:
  1. Tabloid sets vigilante terror on innocent man — Unwitting victim of 'name and shame' campaign — Guardian, July 25, 2000


Michael Horgan — London, England, UK — 2000 (est.)
Vigilante harassment

“Michael Horgan … and his family … were under police protection after 500 homes close to where they lived received a letter on Wednesday warning, incorrectly, that he was a twice-convicted child molester. Police have now distributed leaflets pointing out that that he was wrongly identified.”1

  • Location: London, England
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Michael Horgan (55)
  • Accusations: Being a child molester1
  • Outcome: Neighbors were sent warning letters about him1
  • Dates: 2000 (est.)
  • Latest information: August 20001
Source:
  1. Paedophiles: Vigilante mob attack man named by paper, Independent (London, England), August 4, 2000. (Brief mention of Horgan)


Victor Terry — London, England, UK — 2000 (est.)
Vigilante harassment

“Victor Terry, 78, of Croydon, London, was targeted by an organisation [sic] calling itself Antimatter, which confused him with a paedophile.”1

  • Location: London, England
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Victor Terry (78)
  • Accusations: Being a pedophile1
  • Outcome: Targeted by vigilante group1
  • Dates: 2000 (est.)
  • Latest information: August 20001
Source:
  1. Paedophiles: Vigilante mob attack man named by paper, Independent (London, England), August 4, 2000. (Brief mention of Terry)

1999


Robert Wasser — Walworth County, Wisconsin, US — May 26, 1999 (charges)
Prosecution with case dismissed

Robert and Bonnie Wasser dedicated their lives to helping abused and neglected children in a most dedicated fashion — by adopting and raising 22 of them over the years. But one of their daughters turned on them when Robert disapproved of her dropping out of college. She and her boyfriend first attempted to blackmail Robert for sexually abusing her, then filed a civil suit for damages. Later the police got involved and charges were filed. “While the charges against him were eventually dismissed, he lost his job, his reputation was damaged, and he incurred the expense of a court battle.”2

  • Location: Walworth County, Wisconsin
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Robert Wasser
  • Accusations: Sexually assault his 19-year-old adopted daughter2
  • Outcome: Case dismissed. Lost his job and had years of legal expenses.2
  • Dates: Incident: December 1, 19971, Charges: May 26, 19991, Trial: 20022
  • Problems: Judicial misconduct. In dismissing the case, judge cited prosecutor's misconduct in providing false information to the court and lying under oath.2
  • Latest information: June 20032
Source:
  1. Wisconsin vs. Robert Wasser, Wisconsin Court System
  2. A Poisoned Prosecution — Misconduct in sexual abuse cases damages reputations—and can ruin lives — Center for Public Integrity, June 26, 2003


Mark Daer — Walworth County, Wisconsin, US — April 15, 1999 (charges)
Prosecution

Mark Daer was prosecuted “for sexually assaulting his eight-year-old stepdaughter. The appellate court reversed Daer's conviction … because [the prosecutor] "prevented the real question of Daer's guilt from being fully tried." Among the incidents the court found problematic were "the prosecutor's improper focus during closing argument on [alleged perjury by Daer's wife] Trina Daer and the prosecutor's comment during closing argument that defense attorneys routinely trumpet their clients' innocence no matter what the evidence at trial."”2

  • Location: Walworth County, Wisconsin
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Mark Daer
  • Accusations: Sexually assault his eight-year-old stepdaughter2
  • Outcome: Correction: Conviction reversed2
  • Dates: Incident: October 1, 19971, Charges: April 15, 19991, Exoneration: 20022
  • Problems: Judicial misconduct. Appeals court ruled that district attorney “prevented the real question of Daer's guilt from being fully tried.”2
  • Latest information: June 20032
Source:
  1. Wisconsin vs. Mark Daer, Wisconsin Court System
  2. A Poisoned Prosecution — Misconduct in sexual abuse cases damages reputations—and can ruin lives — Center for Public Integrity, June 26, 2003


Pamela Reser — McMinnville, Oregon, US — 1999 (conviction)
Prosecution with imprisonment

“Reser was convicted of raping her four small children and sentenced to 116 years in jail. Her children alleged that she forced them to have sex with her, each other, and her boyfriends. Apparently, their foster mother put them up to this, because they all later recanted. Reser was incarcerated for more than three years before release.”1

  • Location: McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Pamela Sue Reser
  • Outcome: Sentence: 116 years1, Correction: Released after new police investigation.3, Incarcerated: More than three years
  • Dates: Conviction: 19993, Release: May 31, 20023
  • Problems: Recanted testimony. “[D]etectives verified that Pamela's four children admitted they made up the alleged abuse she was convicted of. A polygraph test of one of the children confirmed to the investigators the recantations were real.”3
  • Latest information: June 20023
Source:
  1. Pamela Sue Reser by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, July 2005
  2. Pamela Sue Reser by Hans Sherrer, Innocents Database, Forejustice
  3. Innocent Small-Town Oregon Woman Freed From 116 Year Sentence For Non-existent Crimes — Pamela Sue Reser, wrongly convicted in 1999 of raping her four small children and sentenced to 116 years in prison, was released on May 31, 2002 when an investigation by the Oregon State Police uncovered that the crimes she was convicted of hadn't occurred. — Justice Denied, June 2002 (Undated; date is month of latest event mentioned)
Listed in: JustD, VotS

1998


Ryan Smith — Ashland, Oregon, US — April 17, 1998 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

Ryan Smith was a boy with a reputation as a troublemaker. Some of his neighbors had forbidden their children to play with him. Then a new family moved in next door with eleven children, several of whom had histories of behaving sexually with each other. Eight of them were "special needs" children who did not have a lot of friends, and they often played with Smith. After a few years, when Smith was 13, one of the boys, aged 12, who had apparently previously “sexually assaulted at least two of his younger siblings”2 told his mother that, “I don't want to get Ryan in trouble,” but “some things had happened with Ryan in the pigeon coop that were inappropriate.”2 The boy was interviewed by police the next day and Smith was arrested that afternoon.

A few months later, before the case went to trial, the boy and his siblings added numerous additional and “increasingly bizarre”2 allegations of sexual abuse by Smith against them over the several months prior to his arrest. Ryan was tried for 21 counts of coercion, menacing, sexual abuse, rape, and sodomy. He was convicted on 12 of those counts and at the age of 15 was sentenced to ten years in prison.

An appeals court affirmed the conviction saying, for example, that although at least one detective “frequently asked leading questions” and at least one complainant's testimony “grew increasingly bizarre over time,” that “not … all of the officers' questions were improper or unduly suggestive” and “we should not discredit everything that the children said.”2 The appellate decision did, however, point out at least three places where Smith's trial lawyers had not preserved his constitutional rights for appeal and the appellate lawyers did not cite these problems when they said that the trial lawyers had served their client inadequately.

  • Location: Ashland, Oregon
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Ryan Smith (13)
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse eight adopted children of the family next door, 6 boys and 2 girls aged 6 to 11, including expose himself, show them pornography, undress them, touch their genitals, urinate and defecate on them, rape them vaginally and anally, "squirt rocks from his penis," and put rocks in one boy's anus
  • Outcome: Sentence: 10 years, Other: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 1998
  • Dates: Investigation: April 17, 19982, Arrest: April 17, 19982
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. The therapist “conduct[ed] group sessions … instructed all of the complainants to share stories of abuse. … met with the entire family … instructed them to talk about abuse by Ryan and to "exchange[] information."”1
         Poor evidence. “… no evidence of [the acts] was offered. The state did not even bother to look for biological evidence.” Claimed witness to one rape “did not corroborate that claim.”1 No pornography found.
  • Latest information: 20071
Source:
  1. Help Us Free Ryan Smith — Ryan Smith was falsely accused at 13 and sent to prison at 15. — National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.) (5 Web pages). (Access in March 2008 showed reference to Smith's upcoming birthday in 2007.)
  2. Oregon v. Ryan Smith, Oregon Court of Appeals, November 27, 2002 (Linked at Oregon Law Library). See annotated version.
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons, Imag-In

1997


Jack Carroll — Troy, New York, US — December 1997 (trial)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

“The accusations in this case arose after the then 13-year-old daughter of Jack Carroll's ex-wife reported to a friend that she was having dreams that an unidentified 'someone' was touching her.”2

  • Location: Troy, New York
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Jack Carroll
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse and rape 13-year-old step-daughter
  • Outcome: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 1997
  • Dates: Trial: December 19972
  • Problems: Poor evidence. Court of appeals stated “There is no evidence or testimony of penetration of any instrumentality.”
         Break-up dispute. “Once Carroll’s ex-wife heard of the dreams, she immediately believed her daughter had been molested and within hours the dreams had become allegations of sexual abuse against Jack Carroll. Carroll and his ex-wife were undergoing a bitter separation at the time.”2
  • Latest information: September 20071
Source:
  1. What is She Hiding?? by Jack Carroll, Justice Now, September 2007
  2. State of New York v. Jack Carroll, Justice Now
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Cameron Todd — Chickasaw County, Mississippi, US — August 1997 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

“Todd, a police officer, arrested three adults and three teenagers for setting fire to a trailer. One of them, a 13-year-old girl accused him and others of raping her. Todd was charged with Capital Rape (in 1997) and was linked in press hysteria as being one of the ringleaders of a major child prostitution, drug, and pornography operation. The girl who made the initial accusation has since recanted.”1

  • Location: Chickasaw County, Mississippi
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Cameron Todd
  • Accusations: Rape a 13-year-old girl whom he had arrested
  • Outcome: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 1997
  • Dates: Arrest: August 19972
  • Problems: Recanted testimony. “The young woman who made the initial charges has since retracted them. She has, in fact, a long history of making and retracting such charges”2
  • Latest information: March 20032
Source:
  1. Cameron Todd by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, March 2005
  2. Mississippi Justice...It's not For Everyone!, Mississippi Justice Project, March 16, 2003
Listed in: VotS


Worms, Germany — June 1997 (trial)
Prosecution with acquittal at trial

(No case description available)

  • Location: Worms, Germany
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse children1
  • Outcome: Acquitted at trial1
  • Dates: Trial: June 19971
  • Latest information: June 19971
Source:
  1. Ritual Abuse Cases in Muenster, Germany, Religious Tolerance. (Worms case briefly mentioned)


Wayne Cservak — Dalton, Georgia, US — May 1997 (trial)
Prosecution with imprisonment

“Cservak was convicted of molesting his girlfriend's 13-year-old-son. One trial juror, Jim Thomas, believed Cservak was innocent but was browbeaten into convicting him after eight grueling hours of jury deliberation. Thomas spoke at Cservak's sentencing hearing and his testimony helped convince the judge to give Cservak only 10 years out of a possible 100-year sentence. Then Thomas spent thousands of dollars hiring an attorney to appeal Cservak's case. During the appeal process, the alleged victim recanted his story and told prosecutors that he had lied. Apparently, the boy's mother and Cservak were talking about marrying and the boy did not like that idea. Cservak was incarcerated for close to a year.”1

  • Location: Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Wayne Cservak (21)
  • Accusations: Sexually molest his girlfriend's 13-year-old-son
  • Outcome: Sentence: 10 years without parole2, Correction: Case dismissed after recantation2, Incarcerated: Almost one year2
  • Dates: Trial: May 19972, Exoneration: December 29, 19972, Release: December 29, 19972
  • Problems: Recanted testimony. “During the appeal process, the alleged victim recanted his story and told prosecutors that he had lied.”1
  • Latest information: March 19982
Source:
  1. Wayne Cservak by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, June 2005
  2. Juror refuses to accept injustice, Chattanooga Times, March 1998 (Undated; date inferred from “May 1997” and “10 months ago”)
Listed in: VotS


Daniel Sanders — Washington, US — May 1997 (investigation)
Prosecution

“Sanders stayed with his former girlfriend, Patti Kelley, to spend time with [their2] 14-year-old son, Gabe. Kelley also lived with her three-year-old son, Tyler, who was not Sanders’ child. After Kelley accused Sanders of molesting Tyler, Sanders said she was retaliating against him for threatening to call Child Protective Services after Tyler had gotten got into Kelley’s stash of methamphetamine. Kelley had told police that Sanders had masturbated and ejaculated in Tyler’s face. During a preliminary hearing, Tyler stated, "My mom told me to say these things about [Sanders]," and he would not, or could not, identify Sanders in the courtroom. The judge found Tyler incompetent to testify.

“Kelley said she had put Tyler’s clothes and the washcloth used to clean him in a bag for police, but no semen was found on any of the items. Tyler was examined the day after the alleged incident, and though Kelley said she had not bathed him, no semen was found on him.

“Sanders identified numerous exculpatory witnesses, but his [public defender2], Thomas Ladouceur, refused to call or interview them. … Other than Sanders himself, Ladouceur did not seek or call any witnesses. Nor did he seek to introduce Tyler’s pretrial statement. The [appeals] Court overturned Sanders’ conviction … based on Ladouceur’s failure to investigate and interview potentially exculpatory witnesses. Sanders also claimed that the prosecutor, who Sanders had worked for as an informant, was retaliating against him for failing to provide information satisfactory to the prosecutor.”1

  • Location: Washington
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Daniel L. Sanders
  • Accusations: Masturbate and ejaculate in face of girlfriend's three-year-old son1
  • Outcome: Correction: Conviction overturned2
  • Dates: Investigation: May 19972, Exoneration: September 4, 20032
  • Problems: Poor representation. Public defender failed to investigate case or call witnesses brought to his attention by defendent.1
  • Latest information: September 4, 20032
Source:
  1. Daniel L. Sanders by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, February 2008
  2. Sanders v. Ryder by Judge William A. Fletcher, US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, September 4, 2003 (Leslie Ryder is the superintendent of the Monroe Correctional Complex [Morse v. Washington DoC].)
Listed in: VotS

1996


James Love — Hamilton County, Ohio, US — February 14, 1996 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

James Love was out of the country during the time that he is supposed to have raped a young girl in Cincinnati.

  • Location: Hamilton County, Ohio
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: James F. Love
  • Accusations: Orally rape a girl five times when she was 11 and 12 years old4
  • Outcome: Sentence: 4 consecutive life terms3, Correction: Judgment reversed, re-trials ordered2 Charges dismissed5, Other: In prison while prosecutor appeals dismissal5, Incarcerated: Since 1996
  • Dates: Incident: 19883, Investigation: February 11, 19963, Arrest: February 14, 19964, Trial: June 19963, Exoneration: Reversed: November 22, 20062, Dismissed: February 15, 20085
  • Latest information: February 15, 20085
Source:
  1. James Love by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, September 2007
  2. James F. Love, #329-475, Innocent Inmates Association (With links to case documents)
  3. Man Two Thousand Miles From Alleged Rape Scene Fighting For New Trial: The James Love Story by James F. Love, Justice Denied, September 2005 (Article starts on page 5)
  4. My Statement by James F. Love, Innocent Inmates Association
  5. James Love’s Indictment Dismissed For Raping A Girl In Cincinnati When He Was 2,000 Miles Away In Mexico, Justice Denied, February 26, 2008
  6. Ohio v. James F. Love, Ohio Court of Appeals (Hamilton County, Ohio), November 22, 2006
Listed in: JustD, VotS


Kenneth Barnes — Maryland, US — 1996 (conviction)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in jail

“[R]umors had already been swirling around Barnes, a strange man living in a close-knit neighborhood who invited neighbors, including children, into his house for Kool-Aid, and who had taken pictures of Marian at her sister's birthday party. Marian says that the idea to accuse him came when a woman with the local neighborhood watch approached her with a question. "I was a little kid, but I was thinking hard about how I could get him away from my sister," Marian recalls. "And [the neighbor] came up to me out of the blue one day and was like, 'Has Kenny ever sexually touched you?' And I'm like, 'Yeah-he raped me. He beat me and raped me.' And the police came. I told the police the same story."”1

  • Location: Maryland
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Kenneth Barnes
  • Accusations: Beat and rape an 8-year-old girl
  • Outcome: In jail on SO registry violations, Incarcerated: Since 2005
  • Dates: Investigation: 19961, Conviction: 19961
  • Problems: Recanted testimony. Eleven years later, the woman who was the girl that accused him said, “The only way I knew how to stop him [from dating my sister] … was if I made it to where she was never able to see him again.”1
  • Latest information: December 20071
Source:
  1. Sex, Lies, and Legal Red Tape — Accuser of Jailed Sex Offender Kenneth Barnes Says He's Innocent — City Paper (Baltimore, Maryland), December 5, 2007


Peter Rose — Lodi, California, US — 1996 (conviction)
Prosecution with long imprisonment

“Rose was convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl. For three weeks, the victim maintained that she did not know who her assailant was. Then after a three-hour taped interrogation, police told her she was lying and threatened to dismiss the case if she did not identify her attacker. Family members who disliked Rose, who was their neighbor, pressured her into identifying him. Rose’s blood type did not match the semen on the victim’s underwear, but the semen sample was deemed too small to conclusively rule him out. Rose served 9 years of a 27-year sentence before DNA testing exonerated him in 2004. In 2005, Rose was awarded $328,200 for the 3282 days that he was wrongfully imprisoned. In 2007, Rose was awarded an additional $1 million combined from the local, county, and state governments.”1

  • Location: Lodi, San Joachin County, California
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Peter Rose
  • Accusations: Rape a 13-year-old girl
  • Outcome: Sentence: 27 years2, Correction: Exonerated by DNA test2, Incarcerated: 8 years2, Compensation: Over $1 million1
  • Dates: Incident: 19942, Conviction: 19962, Release: October 29, 20042
  • Latest information: 20071
Source:
  1. Peter Rose by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, July 2005
  2. Peter Rose, Innocence Project, February 18, 2005
Listed in: InnPr, VotS


Thomas Harris — Hays County, Texas, US — 1996 (arrest)
Prosecution

“Harris was accused and convicted of molesting his youngest daughter. His wife acknowledged to two witnesses that the accusation was not true. The alleged victim also acknowledged that accusation was not true and said … the divorce attorney … told her to lie.”1

  • Location: Hays County, Texas
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Thomas Harris
  • Accusations: Sexually molest his youngest daughter
  • Dates: Arrest: 19962, Trial: May 19, 19972
  • Problems: Recanted testimony. “I then asked if [her father] had bothered her. She said no. I asked if someone else had bothered her and she said yes but that some people had told her to say it was her Father so that he could be put in jail.”2
  • Latest information: March 19992
Source:
  1. Thomas Harris by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, June 2005
  2. The Story of Thomas Harris, Justice Denied, March 8, 1999
Listed in: JustD, VotS

1995


Elsie Oscarson — Vermont, US — 1995 (investigation)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

After the operators of Elsie Oscarson's day care complained to the state about her three young children, aged one, three, and four, being neglected at home, the state took the children away from her and placed them with the day care operators. After previous allegations of molesting her older children were sent to the new foster parents, new allegations arose from the three- and four-year-olds. Oscarson was convicted and sentenced to 35 years to life. The conviction for one of her sons was thrown out by the state supreme court, but the other one remained. At a resentencing hearing, one of the older children, who had earlier plaintively denied the allegations against her mother, gave vindictive testimony of sexual abuse at the hands of her mother and his boyfriend. The boyfriend had never been prosecuted, but Oscarson's sentence was affirmed.

  • Location: Vermont
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Elsie Oscarson
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse her two sons
  • Outcome: Sentence: 35 years to life, Other: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 1998
  • Dates: Investigation: 19951
  • Problems: Poor evidence. A pediatrician found “the genitalia and rectum were completely normal. … none of the Oscarson children show any physical findings consistent with sexual misuse.”1
  • Latest information: December 20041
Source:
  1. Elsie Oscarson case summary by Mark Pendergrast, National Center for Reason and Justice (U.S.A.), December 2004 (Undated; date is month of latest event mentioned)
Listed in: NCRJ-Spons


Bhongweni, South Africa — 1995 (incident)
Vigilante murder

Not a case of overtly sexual accusations, but the shadowy overtones are there in the notion of elderly women enslaving the souls of young boys. “[I]n Bhongweni township … in 1995 after a bus crash killed 12 schoolboys … Overwhelming community grief gave rise to rumour which quickly ran rampant. … It was claimed that witches had caused the crash, that the spirits of the boys had been transformed into zombies which were being kept in an elderly woman's wardrobe. Events got to such a stage that two women were gruesomely murdered and the 12 bodies hacked and desecrated in order to exorcise "the evil spirits."”1

  • Location: Bhongweni, South Africa
  • 2 Claimed Innocent: 2 elderly women
  • Accusations: Make a school bus crash, killing twelve schoolboys in order to enslave some of their spirits
  • Outcome: Death by vigilantes
  • Dates: Incident: 1995
  • Latest information: 19981
Source:
  1. Bailey sticks with winning style — Ipi Zombi?, now on at the National Arts Festival — Daily Dispatch (South Africa), July 10, 1998. (Review of a play based on the event)


Ross Sorrels — Clark County, Washington, US — 1995 (conviction)
Prosecution

“Sorrels was convicted of raping a five-year-old girl. His 1995 trial attracted wide publicity because he was the former director of a group for troubled teenagers, America For Youth Foundation. The actual rapist was convicted in 2002 of raping both the five-year old and her two sisters while living with the girl's mother.”1

  • Location: Clark County, Washington
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Ross Sorrels
  • Accusations: Rape a five-year-old girl
  • Dates: Conviction: 19951, Exoneration: 2002
  • Latest information: 20021
Source:
  1. Ross Sorrels by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, October 2005
Listed in: VotS

1994


Bruce Clairmont — Massachusetts, US — December 6, 1994 (trial)
Prosecution with long imprisonment

“On his twelfth birthday … Neal … and his eight-year-old sister … were caught in a neighbor's garage, engaging in what could be considered age-appropriate sexual experimentation. … That September, [their mother] Deborah and the children began to see a therapist, Amy Moran. … Over the next few years, … the incident between Neal and Renee was construed as molestation, and Moran and Deborah made the presumption that "something had happened" between Neal and [his father] Bruce.”1

  • Location: Massachusetts
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Bruce Clairmont
  • Accusations: Sexually abuse his son and daughter aged 12 and 8
  • Outcome: Paroled4, Incarcerated: 8 years4
  • Dates: Investigation: January 19931, Trial: December 6, 19941, Conviction: December 15, 19944, Sentence: December 21, 19941, Release: 20024
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. “The children were interviewed and denied that their father had done anything other than bathe them. Later … [they] began to change their stories. Various allegations of sexual abuse were made. … Therapist … told the children that when they'd "gotten it all out," they could have a celebration. … Over the next seven months, the stories continued to grow.”1
         Poor evidence. Psychologist who determined the allegations were false was not called to testify.
         Break-up dispute. “Parental alienation syndrome” and “sexual allegations in divorce syndrome”1
  • Latest information: September 9, 2005 4
Source:
  1. The Witch Hunt State Claims Another Victim: Clairmont by Carol Clairmont Weissbrod, Justice Denied, September 1999
  2. Bruce Clairmont: An Update, Justice Denied, February 2001 (Undated; date is of latest event mentioned)
  3. Berkshire County, Massachusetts: How Not to Investigate Child Sexual Abuse by Lona Manning, Imaginary Crimes
  4. Vittone vs. Clairmont — A motion to extend an abuse prevention order — Massachusetts Appeals Court, September 9, 2005
 See also the other cases in Berkshire County, MA: Bernard Baran and Robert Halsey.
Listed in: JustD, NCRJ-Spons, Imag-Out


Jesse Rouse et al. — Yankton Indian Reservation, Marty, South Dakota, US — August 1994 (conviction)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

A five-year-old Native American girl in foster care was interviewed by a government official in January 1994 after speaking of having nightmares and some form of sexual activity. The next day, on the basis of that interview alone, approximately 13 other Native children were forcibly removed from two families and placed in the same foster home. Five young Native men were charged with raping five of the girls, ranging in age from 20 months to seven years. At trial in August, one of the men was acquitted while the other four were convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to between 30 and 33 years.2

An appeal was filed, alleging twelve forms of error in the handling of the trial. In 1996, two out of a three-judge panel agreed on two of the errors, saying, “The trial court barred crucial defense evidence relating to the practice of powerful and coercive suggestibility relating to child witnesses.” Drawing a parallel of the proceedings with the Salem witch trials of 1692, they overturned the convictions and called for a new trial. The dissenting judge on that panel was equally scathing (as well as sarcastic) in his criticism of the majority opinion, concluding that the verdict had been decided “carefully, fairly, and impartially.”2

The state appealed the decision and the overall court from which the appellate panel had been drawn granted a rehearing before all of its judges (i.e., "en banc"). But the first three judges reconsidered the case on their own and, four days before the rehearing was to take place in 1997, issued a new opinion in which one of them switched sides, reaffirming the convictions. The switched judge used language suggesting reluctance in his new concurrence, raising the question of whether he was unduly influenced to change his mind. The court then cancelled its en banc hearing.3,4,6

In 1999, the defendants requested a new trial on the basis of recanted testimony by all five of the state's key witnesses. Hearings on the request were held in 2000, 2001, and 2003, and a decision was issued in 2004 denying a new trial.6 The appeals court upheld that denial in 2005.7

  • Location: Yankton Indian Reservation, Marty, South Dakota
  • 5 Claimed Innocent: Jesse Rouse, Desmond Rouse, Garfield Feather, Russell Hubbeling, Duane Rouse
  • Accusations: Rape five of the men's nieces aged 20 months to seven years
  • Outcome: Sentence: Jesse: 33 years2, Desmond: 32 years2, Feather: 30 years2, Hubbeling: 30 years2, Other: Convictions overturned, then reaffirmed. New trial denied., Incarcerated: Since 1994
  • Dates: Investigation: January 10, 19942, Conviction: August 19942
  • Problems: Tainted testimony. One expert testified that “powerful and potentially coercive influences had been brought to bear on the small four- and five-year-old children”2 First appellate decision stated that “the children's reports of abuse may have been tainted by the influence of social workers and law enforcement officials.”2
         Poor evidence. First appellate decision stated that “the medical evidence was inconclusive as to abuse or abuse by the defendants.”2
  • Latest information: June 8, 20057
Source:
 • Analysis from the Internet community
  1. Yankton Indian Reservation Ritual Abuse Case, Religious Tolerance
 • Case documents
  2. United States v. Desmond Rouse, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, November 12, 1996 (100 F3d 560, Case No. 95-1554, 6, 8, 9. Linked, with abstract, at court site). See annotated version.
  3. United States v. Desmond Rouse, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, February 6, 1997 (107 F3d 557, Case No. 95-1554, 6, 8, 9)
  4. United States v. Desmond Rouse, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, April 11, 1997 (111 F3d 561, Case No. 95-1554, 6, 8, 9. Linked, with abstract, at court site). See annotated version.
  5. Russell Hubbeling v. United States, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, May 3, 2002 (Case No. 01-1174. Linked, with abstract, at court site)
  6. Memorandum Opinion and Order: United States v. Desmond Rouse, US District Court (Southern Division, South Dakota), February 10, 2004 (CR 94-40015)
  7. United States v. Desmond Rouse, US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, June 8, 2005 (410 F3d 1005, Case No. 04-1468, 69, 70, 71. Linked, with abstract, at court site)
Listed in: OCRT


Shieldfield Nursery — Newcastle, England, UK — June 1994 (trial)
Prosecution with acquittal at trial

Two nurses at a children's nursery were charged with sexually abusing children in their care. They were acquitted at trial in 1994. Upon violent protests by some of the parents, an inquiry was launched. The resulting report in 1998 supported the original charges. The nurses won a libel suit in 2002 against the authors of the report and were given the maximum possible award. The judge wrote that the authors “included in their report a number of fundamental claims which they must have known to be untrue” and the nurses “are entitled to be vindicated and recognized as innocent citizens.”10 In 2005, a doctor was charged with serious professional misconduct for faulty medical evidence provided for the report. The medical council hearing the case decided that “the evidence … would permit them to find her guilty,”18[pg 2] but they did not.

  • Location: Newcastle, England at Facility: Shieldfield Nursery1
  • 2 Claimed Innocent: Christopher Lillie, Dawn Reed
  • Accusations: Sexually molest as many as 350 children, supply them to paedophiles for filmed sex sessions, and slash them with knives1 (SRA1)
  • Outcome: Acquitted at trial1
  • Dates: Trial: June 199410
  • Latest information: May 31, 20058
Source:
 • Analysis from the mainstream press
  1. Cleared: The Story of Shieldfield by Bob Woffinden and Richard Webster, Guardian (United Kingdom), July 31, 2002 (Longer version of published op-ed)
  2. We must still listen to kids — This week's libel trial must not distract us from the real issues in child abuse cases — by Christian Wolmar, Guardian (United Kingdom), August 1, 2002 (Op-ed. With correction on August 3, 2002)
  3. Trials of dealing with abuse claims, Guardian (United Kingdom), August 3, 2002 (Letters to the editor in response to We must still listen to kids (local))
  4. How our demons fuel witch-hunts born from demons — Child abuse scandals are fuelled by the same terrors that fed fantasies of Satanic black magic, says author, who has fought for justice for the two nursery nurses — by Richard Webster, Observer (United Kingdom), August 4, 2002 (Op-ed)
  5. Time to give our children rights — But only changes in the law will work — Observer (United Kingdom), August 4, 2002 (Editorial)
  6. Just how bad can a doctor be?, Sunday Sun (Newcastle upon Tyne, England), May 15, 2005 (Editorial)
  7. Get docs a real watchdog by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun (Newcastle upon Tyne, England), May 15, 2005 (Op-ed)
  8. 'I feel I have lost so many years' — Eleven years ago, former nursery nurse Dawn Reed was cleared of sex abuse charges. But … the scars remain — Telegraph (United Kingdom), May 31, 2005
 • Analysis from the Internet community
  9. GMC and Lazaro: The toothless watchdog bites again by Richard Webster, May 15, 2005
  10. MVMO Abuse Case in Newcastle, UK by Bruce Robinson, Religious Tolerance, June 7, 2005
 • News reports
  11. Former nursery workers sue over child abuse claims, Guardian (United Kingdom), January 15, 2002
  12. Lillie and Reed v. Newcastle City Council, et al. by Justice Eady, High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division (London, England), July 30, 2002 (Excerpt, Case no. HQ9903605, HQ9903606)
  13. 'I'm angry for the children, for us, for a lost nine years' — Ordeal over for pair accused in notorious child abuse case — Guardian (United Kingdom), July 31, 2002
  14. 'Our genuine belief was that the nursery nurses had abused children in their care' — Response to the libel case verdict involving two nursery nurses falsely accused of child abuse — Guardian (United Kingdom), July 31, 2002
  15. Cleared nursery nurses fear vigilante mobs, Guardian (United Kingdom), August 1, 2002
  16. Councils advised on averting abuse libels, Guardian (United Kingdom), August 1, 2002
  17. 'We were terrified - we could have been killed' — The nine-year ordeal of Dawn Reed and Christopher Lillie ended last week. In their first extended interview, they tell how false charges of child sex abuse wreaked havoc on their lives — Observer (United Kingdom), August 4, 2002
  18. Paediatrician 'exaggerated accounts of sexual abuse', Telegraph (United Kingdom), April 26, 2005
Listed in: OCRT


Gary Morris — Michigan, US — June 1994 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment, still in prison

“Morris was convicted of sexually assaulting his 13-year-old granddaughter. Morris had evicted his daughter from a trailer owned by his mother. His daughter had paid the rent for years but fell way behind after she began hanging out with a drug-using boyfriend. Shortly after her eviction, his daughter's daughter brought these charges against Morris. Morris' granddaughter claimed he raped her, but a medical exam showed that her hymen was still intact and that she was a virgin. Morris is serving a 20 to 40 year sentence.”1

  • Location: Michigan
  • 1 Claimed Innocent: Gary Lee Morris
  • Accusations: Sexually assault his 13-year-old granddaughter
  • Outcome: Sentence: 20 to 40 years1, Other: In prison, Incarcerated: Since 1994
  • Dates: Incident: March 19912, Arrest: June 19942
  • Problems: Poor evidence. A “report … by … the doctor … shows that my granddaughter’s hymen was still intact … [and] no lacerations or lesions to indicate a rape had occurred.”2
  • Latest information: 20052
Source:
  1. Gary Lee Morris by Dan Rastatter, Victims of the State, September 2005
  2. Conviction Without Evidence: The Gary Lee Morris Story by Gary Lee Morris, Justice Denied, December 2005
Listed in: JustD, VotS


Robert Roberson et al. — Wenatchee, Washington, US — April 4, 1994 (arrest)
Prosecution with long imprisonment

“"Wenatchee may be the worst example ever of mental health services being abus