Sunday, July 12, 2009

another case of the falsely accused.

When I first came to California and began interviewing people, one of the first interviews I conducted was of a couple who had been accused, not by their son, but by overzealous prosecutors, concerning 'ritual abuse' of their son. Unfortunately, I can't upload the video because I've lost track of the people, and the last time we spoke, they wanted confidentiality. Their son grew up and revealed the dirty tricks the court ordered psychiatrist pulled on him to get him to admit to certain things.

The dirty trick?

Repressed memory.

Keep in mind, this was happening while the McMartin Pre-School trial was going on, and while families were being arrested, practically by the droves, in Bakersfield and in the San Bernardino area, by suspicion of police.

My interview with former independent fundamentalist Baptist, Norma Jean Almodovar, revealed she had been arrested for writing a book because her book referenced accounts where members of the LAPD molested young girls in their care.

She resigned from the LAPD and decided it was better to work as a prostitute than a cop. LOL! Yeah, you can see the 'independent fundamentalist Baptist' influence there, can't you? Always from one extreme to the other. That still doesn't circumvent the fact that, in some cases, police have launched false cases against people for abuse while being silent concerning those in their own ranks who have been guilty of the same things.

When I heard the dirty phrase 'repressed memory' mentioned in connection with one of the cases involving Trinity Christian Academy, I sighed. What else was I to do? Why must valuable cases be thrown in with dubious psychological tactics?

See, there are other factors that paint a disturbing picture of how the victims were molested that don't even require 'repressed memory'.

There are deacons who were present when a victim told her story. They can testify as to how Gray hemmed and hawed, and denied everything, before, little by little, actually conceding to different parts of the story.

You have the letter from Tom Messer. If Messer did not believe Gray was guilty, why did he write the letter in the first place?

You have a witness to one of the victims actually confronting Gray and asking, "Why did you molest me?"

Gray allegedly responded, in the face of this victim, and her witness, "I took it too far."

There is also the interrogation tape, released after Gray died, where he admits to french kissing a minor.

Who needs repressed memory when you have evidence like this?

Maybe the statutes of limitations, and expert lawyering, might keep these obvious points from a court of law. Repressed memory, in my opinion, is just a slippery slope toward more false accusations. If that's the best we can do, maybe we need to reevaluate our tactics?

Anyway, here is an article about a man who spent 20 YEARS IN PRISON on false charges based on repressed memory. His children grew up, revealed the truth. Guess what? The charges still stick even though they have recanted their story.

Repressed memory, and cases like this brought by overzealous prosecutors, cheapen the charge of child molestation and make it more difficult for real victims to find closer and justice.

Ray Spencer released.

No comments: