Rivercross Publishing This book describes a false accusation of child sexual abuse and the accused man's fight to win his freedom after being convicted and given a 16- to 60-year sentence. The man, an iron worker, was arrested after a neighbor reported that he had raped his 7-year-old daughter. The man found an attorney through the Yellow Pages, paid him $900, and posted $10,000 bail. The police received a search warrant and seized an inexpensive camera but no photographs. The case was assigned to a case worker who claimed she had been sexually abused as a child. Shortly afterwards, the children were forcibly removed from home and placed in foster care. The book makes it clear that the police and social service workers were persuaded from the beginning that the alleged abuse had happened. At the trial, the judge ordered the man to sit behind his attorney so the child could not see him. Neither the examining physician nor a sexual abuse expert testified. His wife yelled in court and was taken to a mental hospital; later she received a 7-year sentence. While the parents were in prison, social services attempted to convince them to terminate their parental rights so the children could be adopted. The man finally retained an aggressive attorney recommended by another prisoner. Two motions for a new trial were denied, but eventually the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution expert was not known in child abuse literature and had used hearsay evidence in his testimony. Also, the child recanted, stating in two letters that the prosecutor had pressured her to accuse her father and had spent $140 on her for "doing good in court." Both the man and his wife were released after spending five years in prison and their children were returned. This book illustrates in detail how the system can go wrong. It also demonstrates the importance of hiring an aggressive and skilled attorney. Reviewed by LeRoy G. Schultz, Emeritus Professor, West Virginia University.
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