QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It’s not witches, but the witch-hunters, that we should really fear, for they lead us to abdicate our responsibilities to be fair, thoughtful, measured, and rational….”.
From “Season of the witch” by Joel Bellman at LA Observed (Dec. 10);
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: For several years I have been following a Blog on what has become known as the "Little Rascals Day Care Case" by former Charlotte journalist Lew Powell. I have learned a great deal about waves of fear and hatred, and prosecutions motivated by mass hysteria from Mr. Powell's Blog and recommend it heartily to our readers. Lew Powell writes that he didn't cover the Little Rascal's case, and does not know anyone involved. "My motivation is simple outrage and shame over how North Carolina prosecutors maliciously denied justice – and continue to deny exoneration – to seven innocent defendants." He has been described as " an early and persistent critic of the madness who does not waiver in his plea for belated justice." Here, in a series of questions and answers provided by Mr. Powell is a concise summary of the case:
How did it all begin? Two coincidental and seemingly minor events apparently laid the groundwork for the case: Brenda Toppin, a dispatcher for the Edenton police department, attended a seminar on “satanic ritual abuse,” and Jane Mabry failed to get an apology from Bob Kelly for slapping her child. Mabry began a campaign of complaints about Little Rascals, and eventually Toppin became part of a web of gossip, speculation and accusation that came to include parents, police, therapists and prosecutors. In 1989 Kelly and six other defendants were charged with child sexual abuse. What was the crucial evidence in the case against Kelly? Testimony of 12 children, who after months of intense questioning by parents, investigators and therapists had produced the sought-after claims of abuse. All documentation of the initial interviews, in which the children denied ever having been abused, was lost or destroyed. The defense pointed out that: – All children interviewed by local, prosecution-approved therapists were found to have been abused; none of the children interviewed by out-of-town, independent therapists were found to have been abused. – No physical evidence from the day care or elsewhere was put forth by prosecutors. – No adult ever witnessed anything amiss at Little Rascals, the town’s most prominent day care, even though parents and other visitors frequently came and went during the day. Why might the jury have returned guilty verdicts? The process was contaminated, jurors reported later: A Redbook article on child molestation was improperly discussed. One juror concealed during jury selection his childhood history of abuse, only to cite it emotionally in arguing for conviction. Another juror twice visited the scene against the judge’s orders. At least three jurors have publicly expressed regret for their votes. One apologized for “probably the biggest mistake I ever made in my life.” Was Little Rascals an isolated case? No. It was part of a “moral panic” over “Satanic ritual abuse” that struck day cares across the country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Remarkably similar in their details, Little Rascals and the McMartin Preschool case in California were the most-publicized examples. (The McMartin trial, longest and costliest in U.S. history, ended in 1990 with acquittals or dismissals of all charges against the seven defendants.) Playing a crucial part in winding down this decade of unfounded fears and unjustified prosecutions were filmmaker Ofra Bikel’s “Frontline” documentaries on Edenton. Although the “Innocence Lost” trilogy (1991, 1993, 1995) appeared too late to improve the prospects of the Edenton Seven, millions of viewers received a jarring education in justice run amok. What was the outcome for the Edenton Seven? Robert F. “Bob” Kelly Jr., co-owner of Little Rascals Day Care Center: Convicted in 1992 of 99 counts of sexually molesting 12 children, sentenced to 12 consecutive life terms. Convictions overturned by N.C. Court of Appeals in 1995. Charges dropped in 1997. Elizabeth “Betsy” Kelly, co-owner: In 1994 pleaded no contest to 30 felonies while maintaining her innocence. Served 11 months of a seven-year sentence. Kathryn Dawn Wilson, cook: Convicted of seven counts of sexual abuse in 1993 and sentenced to life in prison. Convictions overturned in 1995. Charges dropped in 1997. Shelley Alyce Stone, center worker: Charged with 13 counts of sexual abuse, spent several weeks in jail. Charges dropped in 1996. Robin Boles Byrum, center worker: Charged with 23 crimes. Charges dropped in 1996. Willard Scott Privott, video store owner and friend of Bob Kelly: Served three years and eight months awaiting trial. In 1994 maintained his innocence while pleading no contest to taking indecent liberties with a minor. Given suspended sentence and probation. Darlene Harris Bunch (connection unknown – never worked at the center): Charged with three counts. Charges dropped in 1996. Why were the convictions of Bob Kelly and Dawn Wilson overturned? In 1995 the North Carolina Court of Appeals cited massive errors in their trials. For instance, Judge D. Marsh McLelland had refused to review transcripts of the children’s interrogation. He had allowed parents to testify as expert witnesses. And there was gross misconduct by the prosecutors, including intimidation of defendants by prominently stationing potential character witnesses in the courtroom." Has the state ever acknowledged the innocence of the defendants? No. When prosecutors dropped the last charges, they insisted they were only allowing “wounds to heal” and sparing the supposed child-victims from further courtroom testimony."
I will be dipping into Lew Powell's Blog from time to time. Here is the latest one. Read on!
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
POST: "Moral panics: they may begin with a legitimate social concern," by Lew Powell, published by Little Rascals Day Care Case on January 4, 2018.
GIST: “Sexual harassment or assault, by contrast [with the Communism scare in Hollywood], obviously warrants discipline at the very least and criminal prosecution wherever appropriate. But then and now, what’s lacking is any shared obligation to respect constitutional rights, ensure due process or maintain a sense of proportion…. And that’s the thing about moral panics: they may begin with a legitimate societal concern – drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse, human trafficking – but they can devolve into Prohibition, movie and broadcast censorship, banning comic books and rock ‘n’ roll, and general crusades against anything in popular culture challenging the official conformist line. And if you’re not careful, you’ll soon find yourself succumbing to irrational fears of ‘satanic ritual abuse,’ ‘backward masking’ in rock lyrics and secret pedophilia rings run out of suburban pizzerias…. “It’s not witches, but the witch-hunters, that we should really fear, for they lead us to abdicate our responsibilities to be fair, thoughtful, measured, and rational….”From “Season of the witch” by Joel Bellman at LA Observed (Dec. 10)'
The entire post can be found at:
https://www.littlerascalsdaycarecase.org/wordpress/?p=3028
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/c
