Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial
American day-care sex-abuse trial / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial took place in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts following charges initially lodged in the mid-1980s against family members who operated a day care center, Fells Acres Day School,[1] in Malden, Massachusetts. The facility had been opened in 1966 by Violet Amirault (1923–1997).[2] She and her two children—son Gerald Amirault (born 1954) and daughter Cheryl Amirault LeFave (born c. 1957)—were tried for sexually abusing children at their facility. Gerald was tried in 1986 while his sister and mother were tried in 1987. All three were convicted and sentenced to prison. The Amiraults deny the charges, which supporters regard as a conspicuous example of day-care sex-abuse hysteria.[3][4]
Violet and Cheryl were freed on appeal in 1995. Violet died in 1997. The appeal was ultimately denied, but Cheryl avoided a return to prison via a deal struck with prosecutors in October 1999.[5] Gerald was released on parole in 2004. Their convictions have been strongly criticized, especially with regards to interviewing techniques that were used with the alleged victims.[3]