Dad hugs his two adult kids after they admit he didn't molest them

He spent nearly 20 years in jail because of their testimony. The son and daughter say they realized as adults the abuse never happened, and they came forward because it was the right thing to do. (Columbian.com)

Comments

[Drake Timbershaft]

Well, ritual suicide would have been the right thing to do. Giving him their homes and every dollar they've earned in the last 20 years would have been the right thing to do. But howza about a hug instead, dad?

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

Wow. Shades of the McMartin case.

I can't think of too many injustices more horrific than this. I hope we've come a long way in interviewing children since the eighties. And any parent who falsely accuses their spouse for revenge or otherwise has a heart colder than death.

[buddy]

i dont think that 4 year olds should be able to testify. that is like allowing a parrot to testify. you can get them to say whatever you want.

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

And Drake, I think your anger is misdirected. Its the child psychologist and the rest of the legal numbnuts in the case that deserve bitchslapping.

[Bill B.]

SEMSC, I could not have said it better. What a horrible miscarriage of justice.

[KDP]

Ever notice how those involved in obtaining convictions of the accused scurry away like the cockroaches that they are when the convictions are proved to be false?

I agree with you, SEMSC. From what I've seen, there are people in one of the Carolinas (I could be wrong) who are still incarcerated after the "victims" have recanted their stories. Stubborn public prosecuters will not admit they are wrong and do what's right. The spirit of Nifong lives on.

[Torgo]

Hell takes many forms.

[Sheila]

Where's their mother now? The reporter doesn't mention that. Did she find her, try to get a comment? She probably would not admit wrongdoing.

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

Stubborn public prosecuters will not admit they are wrong and do what's right.
-------------------------

Yes, KDP. I'd hold them in the same regard and those parents that falsely accuse. And what - to keep their good name? Even if it meant my carreer, I couldn't sleep one night knowing I put an innocent away. Maybe that's why I'm not a lawyer.

[lester]

i'm not surprised by this. my 17 year old son still repeats the lies fed to him by my ex during our custody battle. he was 7 when i won.

[Patrick]

I'm an educator in a small rural area. About 10 years ago two 8th grade girls accused a fellow teacher with sexual abuse. The principal and counselor sided with the girls without due process for the teacher. Needless to say, his career and his standing in the community were ruined. One week later the girls recanted their story. They were upset about an embarrassing reprimand from the teacher and wanted revenge. They got it, big time.

[MONKEY JERKm]

THEY SHOULD BE JAILED FOR 20 YEARS EACH

[buddy]

so then by all rights he should get to molest them now since he already served the time for it

[thing1]

I know a couple of kids who are not getting anything for Xmas! Isn't it against the law to file false charges?

[Drake Timbershaft]

Perhaps SEMSC, but to wait twenty years?

[Sisterblonde]

Methinks Krause had a personal agenda against Mr Spencer right from the get-go....

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

Perhaps SEMSC, but to wait twenty years?
-----------------------------

I see your point, but who knows how much they were messed up by that child psych. It took years for one of the McMartin kids to come clean, and what the psychologist was feeding them was much more rediculous.

[stopeatingmysesamecake]

Methinks Krause had a personal agenda against Mr Spencer right from the get-go....
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I was wondering about this from the atricle myself:

"In 1985, Spencer was also convicted of abusing a 4-year-old stepson, who was not at Friday's hearing.

The Court of Appeals ruled his testimony was not necessary, given his age at the time of the alleged crimes and the fact his mother had an affair with Krause's supervisor."

Huh? The fact the mother had an affair with the psych's supervisor wasn't at least brought up in the case?

Again, I'm no lawyer, but shouldn't someone have got a 'WTF' on the record?

[Russ]

I just read a book about "Why People Believe Weird Things" by Michael Shermer. He talks about "recovered memories," comparing them to the recurring witchcraft hysteria of the past. It's pretty interesting stuff. His opinion, backed by a ton of data, is that recovered memories are a hoax.

[Rofo]

Another good book on the subject is "Demon Haunted World" by Carl Sagen. It also touch on the "satanic abuse" hysteria from the 80's

[David]

This was and is a tragedy. Like the Wenatchee witch hunt or the McMartin case it never should have been allowed to go to court without some actual rational people looking at it.

At least they didn't accuse him of flying as well.

And for everyone who thinks that kids don't lie about sexual abuse.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Rose_Willson
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_remembers

[sometimesilie]

But...but...but...kids are special and unique angels sent down to Earth to remind us all what it was like to be a... BLORPH!!! Anyone who believes that was never a child themselves, spawned instead out of the colon of whatever serves as the vanguard for burning witches now-a-days. Of course children lie...they lie to get out of trouble or they lie to get attention and nothing gets attention like a little molestation accusation.

[Joe]

Russ, Rofo, you guys said exactly what I was going to say. Since we're on the topic of great books, I recommend Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. It's like the Demon Haunted World but for medicine - conventional and "alternative".

Echoing the same thing though - recovered memories are not actually memories. It's leading suggestions from the psychologist. What makes it worse is that the victims then often think these are true memories, and may suffer more mental trauma.

[Lambiepie]

what mystifies me is the fact that prosecutors hid the doctors report that there was NO evidence of abuse, no signs of trauma...
and, yeah where's mom now?

[WZ]

Uh, Monkeyjerk, there isn't any crime a 9 year old and a 5 year old (and a 4 year old) would serve 20 years for. Or should. Did you read the article?

[Joel]

My God! You mean ex-wives don't always tell the truth? And sometimes they manipulate the children? This would come as a terrible shock to my ex-harpy.

[anita]

I think his ex-wife should be charged with something. The kids were probably convinced by others that it happened.

[Azrael Brown]

This isn't just a 'kid' thing: when presented with evidence, even adults can be convinced that something may have happened to them, despite having no memories of it. I'm just glad nobody has decided I'm a bad enough person to start inserting false memories into the people around me; it's far easier than anyone could have imagine.

[No Name]

I wonder how often this actually happens. I would guess more often then we care to admit. When people are sent to prison and lives are ruined SOLEY because of the testimony of another person and no other evidence (which happens A LOT), then this kind of injustice will be allowed to continue.

[wank]

I don't know how many of you remember the old TV show from the early eighties called "Real People." One episode featured the famous case where the owners and employees of a daycare center were charged with sexual molestation of children. The episode detailed all of the outrageous claims made by the supposedly abused children (details that were suggested to them by interviewers, although no one knew this at the time). When a tiny doubt was offered as the plausibility of these charges, one of the interviewers/psychologists said, "Children don't lie." Now, many lifetimes later, we know that no abuse occurred at this daycare center. There is another famous case where children, under the influence of regressive hypnosis techniques, accused their grandparents of abuse. Although serious doubts were cast on the veracity of these claims, the two grandparents are now serving life in prison. Again, "children don't lie." Oh, and they can't be deceived by hypnotists either.

[TheTruth]

This is what happens when you have Christians as jury... they think with emotions not logic.

[dweeb]

If you have kids, install 24/7 video surveillance in your home and burn it to DVD daily. It's the only way to be safe.

[outofsalt]

It's scary what a Kafkaesque world we live in.

[Bill Johnson]

I don't know how you define recovered memories, but when I was around 10 I had dreams where I relived stuff from when I was 4 that I had no recollection of. After, I asked my parents to describe the house we lived in and friends my siblings had and a bunch of other stuff and it turned out all to be true. No idea why I didn't remember them until then. I wasn't traumatized or anything. It was like gaining back a part of my past I didn't know existed.

[Joel]

Well, I knew some of the people involved in the Wenatchee trials, and I can tell you it was very possible to convince children to testify that they had been abused. Those who couldn't be convinced were silenced.

This is what happens when you have Christians as jury... they think with emotions not logic.

Actually, the Wenatchee defendants were singled out because they were Pentecostal Christians. Made it easier to convince a jury that they were likely to behave in erratic ways.

[TheTruth]

"Actually, the Wenatchee defendants were singled out because they were Pentecostal Christians. Made it easier to convince a jury that they were likely to behave in erratic ways."

They were singled out by Christians of other detonations... not atheists that is for sure....

Atheist see all religion the same.. we usually accused 'attacking' a person when in reality we are attacking a false belief, not the person themselves.

The christian jury thought that it was 'possible' he was guilty not that he was that it was possible and they did not want him out in the world... they were not worried cause they had 'faith' in god and the system.

10$ if ya can figure out the failed logic with what the jury had?

[J.S.Bridges]

Taken from the linked item:

"Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Dennis Hunter wasn't ready to wave a white flag on Friday. He said if convictions are tossed, prosecutors could appeal to the state Supreme Court."

There speaks the mind-set of the prosecutor's office - "He must be guilty - even if the kids swear he didn't do it - he was convicted before, right?...He's guilty of something, I tell ya!"

[sometimesilie]

J.S.--the mindset of the Prosecutors Office is that justice is ONLY served if they win their case. It does not appear as if they are interested in arriving at the truth, only in winning.

[Assistant Village Idiot]

Heartbreaking. Justice delayed is no justice, but I am glad that he lived to this day, and might find some peace.

[large wall mirrors]

I feel so sorry for their dad who's life wasted for spending 20 years in prison of not committing a crime. So sad! We own a Wall Mirrors ecommerce site and are always looking for great content to share and help inspire. Thanks.

[Oak Dining Set]

I feel sorry for the that who's his life has ruined. I hope he catch up for his children.