From - Sat May 03 10:10:48 1997 Received: from VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (vms.dc.lsoft.com [206.241.12.2]) by u2.farm.idt.net (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id CAA27362; Sun, 4 May 1997 02:21:10 -0400 (EDT) Received: from vms.dc.lsoft.com by VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.1a) with SMTP id <11.4B2CE472@VMS.DC.LSOFT.COM>; Sun, 4 May 1997 2:21:10 -0500 Received: from MITVMA.MIT.EDU by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LISTSERV release 1.8c) with NJE id 7705 for WITCHHNT@MITVMA.MIT.EDU; Sun, 4 May 1997 02:22:13 -0400 Received: from MITVMA (NJE origin SMTP@MITVMA) by MITVMA.MIT.EDU (LMail V1.2b/1.8b) with BSMTP id 1105; Sun, 4 May 1997 02:20:25 -0400 Received: from m-net.arbornet.org by mitvma.mit.edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R3) with TCP; Sun, 04 May 97 02:20:22 EDT Received: (from aaron@localhost) by m-net.arbornet.org (8.8.5/8.7.3) id CAA11401 for witchhnt@mitvma.mit.edu; Sun, 4 May 1997 02:21:32 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <199705040621.CAA11401@m-net.arbornet.org> Date: Sun, 4 May 1997 02:21:32 -0400 Reply-To: Aaron Larson Sender: Is there a child sex abuse witchhunt? From: Aaron Larson Subject: Fells Acres To: WITCHHNT@MITVMA.MIT.EDU X-UIDL: 81351597f55fde32bdedd53446494a8d X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Content-Length: 1215 It is important to recall in any discussion of Fells Acres that there were parents who insisted (and continue to insist) that the misdeeds alleged against the Amiraults could not have occurred, and that the doors of the daycare were always open for unexpected parental visits, which were welcomed. I would expect that the children who came to believe they were abused through the course of the interrogations inflicted in that case no longer adhere to the eccentric details of the alleged abuse. I don't know how realistic it is to expect a person who has been repeatedly told "you were abused," since the age of three or four, to suddenly realize "I was not abused." Recall Piaget's firm memory of being briefly kidnapped as a child -- a memory that turned out to be rooted exclusively in the false account of his nanny, who had created the story to cover up her theft of some cash entrusted to her by his parents. I don't know that it is realistic to demand or expect a retraction under those circumstances, regardless of desirability. Insurance settlements may be a factor, but I would venture that most of the children at issue adhere to the essence of their stories for other reasons.