From reporter Susannah Sudborough:

Gov. Charlie Baker has pardoned the two Amirault siblings who were convicted of child sex abuse in the 1980s in the long-questioned Fells Acre daycare case.

Gerald Amirault, 68, and his sister, Cheryl Amirault Lefave, 65, were accused of sexually assaulting over a dozen children at their Malden daycare in 1984, but have always maintained their innocence.

The case has long been controversial because of questionable techniques investigators used to elicit accusations from the children.

Amirault was convicted in 1986, and spent 18 years in prison before being paroled in 2004, according to GBH. Amirault Lefave was convicted in 1987 and served eight years in prison and 10 more on probation.

Violet Amirault, the siblings’ mother who opened the daycare in 1966, was also convicted in the 1987 trial, and served eight years in prison, GBH reported. She died within a few months of her release.

“The investigations and prosecutions of the Amiraults in the 1980s took place without the benefit of scientific studies that have in the intervening years led to widespread adoption of investigative protocols designed to protect objectivity and reliability in the investigation of child sex abuse cases,” Baker said in a news release about the pardons.

“Given the absence of these protections in these cases, and like many others who have reviewed the record of these convictions over the years, including legal experts, social scientists and even several judges charged with reviewing the cases, I am left with grave doubt regarding the evidentiary strength of these convictions. As measured by the standard we require of our system of justice, Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave ought to be pardoned.”

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2022/11/20/charlie-baker-pardons-fells-acre-daycare-child-sex-abuse-case-gerald-cheryl-violet-amirault-malden/

>The children repeatedly told interviewers, including Kelley, that nothing happened to them, that there were no secret rooms, and there was no clown. However, the questioning continued and eventually the children claimed all these things happened.

Either Gerald and Violet threatened the children to not say anything, or the prosecutors were really obsessed with getting a false confession from children to frame someone for child sex abuse. Why would the prosecutors desire the latter? But given the facts it seems the latter is more probable.

I don't really have an opinion about this case because every time I read about it I get more confused.

I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news but over-zealous prosecutors in cases like these is the norm. It makes sense psychologically since crimes like these have public outrage behind them, the nature of the crime makes most people feel upset and angry just thinking about the possibility of it, etc.

On top of that, DA's offices are in the business of getting convictions, not looking at exculpatory evidence that contradicts their case.

About time. A lot of Governors have passed on doing this.

Read up on the Satanic Panic. It happened all over the country and even in Canada. Police departments did all sorts of shady things to convict people of crimes they didn’t commit. There are some good podcasts on the subject too.

I once worked with the stepmother of one of the kids, who was I believe (as she put it) one of the main accusers. The type of woman she was I can believe the children were pressured into lying/“confessing” untruths.

Social contagion is a real thing and very powerful.

Here's to you, Barbara Anderson...