Kathryn Lyon

A horrifying story.

I thought that the McMartin Preschool case served as an example of how not to investigate charges of child sexual abuse. How not to question children, how not to rely on "recovered memories", how not to lead a witness. I thought every jurisdiction in the country would have learned from it. But apparently not. In the 1990s it happened all over again, but in the small down of Wenatchee, Washington, and to dozens of people.

The book starts by reminding us of the origins of the Salem witch trials. And how they started primarily because of some hysterical young girls. Let's remember that in Salem the people came to their senses in a few months. In Wenatchee it took years. Nobody was actually sentenced to death but many lives were ruined beyond repair.

It appears that the main force in this drama was Robert Perez, police detective, who was on a crusade to protect the children of Wenatchee. Only he had no clue how to do it right. And he was aided by his supervisor and by members of the Children's Protective Services. The local newspaper further fueled any fires, without doing any investigating of its own. The fact that many of these people may have been well-meaning does not excuse their actions.

At the heart of it all was a little girl. Shades of those witch trials. It does not appear that she was hysterical so much as wanting to please. That may have been the case in Salem as well.

Telling the story and ultimately a part of it is Kathryn Lyon, a defense attorney who comes to the town to see for herself what is happening and stays to become one of the threatened herself. We can be grateful to her for her painstakingly detailed account, based on court records, investigative reports, and interviews with the accused and accusers.… (más)