Sean Penn's "Witch Hunt" - Leave questions for the producers and people featured in the program

I have read over all the comments left since sunday when I commented. It is suprising that this much stiff has happened to innocent people. I agree that people want to believe children-even if they are lying. MY husband is in prison for a crime he did not commit. I've gone to the Innocence Project and they told me that because there is no evidence they can't help, I've contacted the Judge Advocate General, NCIS, the prosecution and informed them of the evidence I ahve found that shows NCIS never reported these allegations to the local authorities, yet no one wants to take responsibility for this injustice.

This happens everyday in America, land of the free-home of the brave, YEAH RIGHT! Innocent til proven guilty seems to have escaped the Unites States Marine Corps since they have a 90% conviction rate of these types of allegations.

My husband Edwin was told to take a plea deal and he would only get 2 months but have to register as a sex offender. He told his attorney's no, he was innocent so a judge gave him 25 years instead. This sentence was after the NCIS investigator admitted to tampering with evidence, the child admitted she was coached by someone and she also admitted that when she told NCIS on video in 2004 that Edwin's ex wife witnessed this sexual assault, she had lied. Come to find out that the father of this child lied and the mother told the kid, in front of a witness to say it was my husband.

I have the documentation but no one cares. I'm going to continue to fight to get my husband home before his years are through in Leavenworth. If interested in how things are going, check out my blog. militaryinjustices.blogspot.com

Angela

It can happen to anybody at anytime. Anybody can make allegations against you and they do not have to be true.

I know of a school teacher who refused to buy beer for a student so he claimed that they had a relationship. The news stories about her were just awful. She lost a lot of friends over the whole thing because nobody wanted to be associated with her. She was never even questioned by the police and the kid ended up telling three different versions of the story. They fought the case for 18 months and she has a nervous break down the week before trial was scheduled to start. She took the plea deal and pled no contest because her lawyer told her that if they went to trial then she would at best have a 50-50 shot of not going to prison. I am sure that a lot of people assume that she was guility because she took the plea but I know that she did it so that she can raise her kids and be with her husband. She now has a felony rape charge and is a registered sex offender for LIFE !!!

Teachers beware - any student can say anything about you and they WILL be believed.

Dana, Don, and Sean

For the last 3 days, and I'm sure there will be more, I have been reading these comments. It is appauling how many people this is happening to. One of the comments mentioned doing a series on this subject. I so support that. I am currently dilegently working on proving my sons innocents. It is even harder to show once there's been a conviction as you know. With the resources you have could we unitedly make a very firm stand on justice. If something does not rock their world and this continues to be ignored, it's only going to get worse and worse. What can I do to help, what can we all do?

Personally, I don't think anything will change for the better in Bakersfield or Kern County until the misdeeds of the officials involved in these false prosecutions come into the national spotlight even more, via other news programs on MSNBC and those on other channels. I can think of two others on MSNBC that might be effective; COUNTDOWN, which airs at 8pm and 10pm, and THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW, which usually airs at 9pm.

Of course, those are just two other news programs, there are quite a few others. I'd say that Don, Dana and Sean Penn should make a large list (which they've probably done already), and send copies of "Witch Hunt" to as many of these program anchormen and anchorwomen as they can. Politicians, no matter how well-meaning, may not want to address this issue of wrongful convictions as thoroughly as it needs to be, for fear of getting labeled "soft on crime/criminals," so too often the issue gets buried and then forgotten.

Investigative journalists, who WANT to address serious wrongs and correct them and who are not only NOT afraid of corrupt politicians but are eager to take them on in the public spotlight, are the people who really need to see this documentary. Just a suggestion, for what it's worth. :)

I am a 55 year old former special education teacher for 22 years when I was accused by my student of flashing him and touching him. After anguishing for 4 months,considering suicide, seeing my 16 daughter go thru hell at the school where the kid was and under pressure from my lawyer who was under pressure from the prosecutor, I pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor CHILD MOLESTATION. The prosecutor threatened that if I went to jury trial, he would change the charge to a felony(which meant posssibly a sentence of 7 years in prison). Right before going to court to plead guilty, my husband and I decided we would take the chance of going to trial. My lawyer told me "it was too late". Never being in this situation before, we did no know any better and accepted his word. Consequently, I am a lifetime sex offender on the Registry. I have been fired from two jobs and of course, can't find any decent jobs, even though I would not be working with children. My lawyer committed suicide 6 months later and it was made public that he had Bi-Polar Disease and had not been taking his medication and had tried suicide two other times, one of those was only one month after I got out of jail. My lawyer NEVER once explained the ramifications of a guilty plea as far as being on the Sex Offender Registry. I didn't know anything about it and was too depressed to look into it. I live in Mo. and have tried to enlist lawyers' help to go back to court with NO success. Does anyone have any suggestions of who I should turn to since there is no Innocence Project in MO.? For those of you in my situation and even those who want to learn more about Sex offenders, go the (Reform Sex Offencer Laws). It is a wealth of info and you will find that there are thousands of us unjustly accused and convicted. It will make you question our justice system even more.God Bless everyone who worked on this film and those who had the courage to speak out.

That website above is RSOL.org.

Must also add that I believe NOW that the "victim" would have refused to go to jury trial and that is why the prosecutor threatened me with a felony if I went to trial. Also he ran for Judge the next year....hmmm, a little self promotion in this case???

thank you everyone who help with the witch hunt. It has changed the lifes of those how lived this nightmare. love to all Rick and marcella Pitts

Great show, Mister Ed has been a problem to Kern County since he first took office. How he keeps getting re-elected I have no idea. This county needs a new D.A., not some one that has worked for/or under his control. I wish we could get a D.A. that has never been a member of the Jagels circus. Have a question, in the show it was said that an invest. turned over a box of evidence that had been stored in his garage ? how can this be, isn't all evidence to be logged into the property room. Who was the invest. that had this evidence stored in their garage, was it Youngblood ?.

Well Don, Dana and Sean, as you can see, this atrocity is so wide spread throughout this country that it has reached epic proportions and the time has come now to expose it in all of it's hideousness. Multi-thousands are wasting their lives away in prisons and their families are being emotionally and financially devastated by these vile 'public servants'. Ridiculous S.O. laws are being passed by arrogant and ignorant legislators. Yes, it has to stop and as you can see from the posts here, we do see the necessity to having a SERIES about false sexual allegations.

If I recall, there was a program out a few years ago about the falsely convicted, but it dealt mainly with murders and robbery's. But this subject has touched so many families, now we need a series based on exclusively convictions dealing with SEX OFFENSES, particuarly child molestation. You would not be wanting for subjects, that for sure. Even in the case of my son, who is now facing yet a FOURTH trial (the state continually violated the law in each trial and thank God each has been overturned), there was the 'suicide' of the biological father just before the 2nd trial when he found out that his ex-wife was coming to testify for the defense. Now does this sound as strange to you as it has to us? There are so many twists and turns to this case that my daughter-in-law is working on a book about it.

So as you can see--we, the TRUE victims of the 'child molestation witch hunts" are begging to be heard and expose this blight on our nation. PLEASE CONSIDER OUR PLEAS FOR A SERIES --SOON!!!

Thank all three of so very much!

Linda

DION, DANA and/or SEAQN---Please comment/respond to some of MY long comments posted early this morning.

Mine was number 117--I am especially interested in Bar or contempt proceedings against Jangels, Calif procedures for compendsation for victims like here, and the tie0-in to McMurtin & the mass & Fla. cases (especially Reno/Bobby Finje)

The movie discusses the organization VOCAL (Victims of Child Abuse Laws).

The late Ralph Underwager was the founder of VOCAL. He also helped start the False Memory Syndrome Foundation in the 90's.

Let's see what Mr. Underwager had to say in an interview.

Interview in Amsterdam in June 1991 by “Paidika,” Editor-in-Chief, Joseph Geraci.

PAIDIKA: Is choosing paedophilia for you a responsible choice for the individuals?

RALPH UNDERWAGER: Certainly it is responsible. What I have been struck by as I have come to know more about and understand people who choose paedophilia is that they let themselves be too much defined by other people. That is usually an essentially negative definition. Paedophiles spend a lot of time and energy defending their choice. I don’t think that a paedophile needs to do that. Paedophiles can boldly and courageously affirm what they choose. They can say that what they want is to find the best way to love. I am also a theologian and as a theologian, I believe it is God’s will that there be closeness and intimacy, unity of the flesh, between people. A paedophile can say: “This closeness is possible for me within the choices that I’ve made.”

Let's see what a court case had to say about the "accuracy" of some of Mr. Underwager's statements:

Ralph Underwager and Hollida Wakefield, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Anna Salter, Et Al., Defendants-Appellees., 22 F.3d 730 (7th Cir. 1994) Federal Circuits, 7th Cir. (April 25, 1994) Docket number: 93-2422

Psychologists Ralph Underwager and Hollida Wakefield have written two books...When a given reference fails to support their viewpoint they simply misstate the conclusion. When they cannot use a quotation out of context from an article, they make unsupported statements, some of which are palpably untrue and others simply unprovable.” David L. Chadwick, Book Review, in 261 JAMA 3035 (May 26, 1989)

Both Salter and Toth came to believe that Underwager is a hired gun who makes a living by deceiving judges about the state of medical knowledge and thus assisting child molesters to evade punishment.

And let's see what Salter has to say about Underwager's harassment of her:

Confessions of a Whistle-Blower: Lessons Learned Author: Anna C. Salter DOI: 10.1207/s15327019eb0802_2 Published in: Ethics & Behavior, Volume 8, Issue 2 June 1998 , pages 115 - 124 Abstract - In 1988 I began a report on the accuracy of expert testimony in child sexual abuse cases utilizing Ralph Underwager and Hollida Wakefield as a case study (Wakefield & Underwager, 1988). In response, Underwager and Wakefield began a campaign of harassment and intimidation, which included multiple lawsuits; an ethics charge; phony (and secretly taped) phone calls; and ad hominem attacks, including one that I was laundering federal grant monies. The harassment and intimidation failed as the author refused demands to retract. In addition, the lawsuits and ethics charges were dismissed.

Mike above was right.

Actually, false accusations of child abuse are rare.

from the Leadership council website:

How often do children’s reports of abuse turn out to be false? Research has consistently shown that false allegations of child sexual abuse by children are rare. Jones and McGraw examined 576 consecutive referrals of child sexual abuse to the Denver Department of Social Services, and categorized the reports as either reliable or fictitious. In only 1% of the total cases were children judged to have advanced a fictitious allegation. Jones, D. P. H., and J. M. McGraw: Reliable and Fictitious Accounts of Sexual Abuse to Children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 27-45, 1987. In a more recent study, investigators reviewed case notes of all child sexual abuse reports to the Denver Department of Social Services over 12 months. Of the 551 cases reviewed, there were only 14 (2.5%) instances of erroneous concerns about abuse emanating from children. These consisted of three cases of allegations made in collusion with a parent, three cases where an innocent event was misinterpreted as sexual abuse and eight cases (1.5%) of false allegations of sexual abuse. Oates, R. K., D.P. Jones, D. Denson, A. Sirotnak, N. Gary, and R.D. Krugman: Erroneous Concerns about Child Sexual Abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect 24:149-57, 2000….Children Tend to Understate Rather than Overstate the Extent of Any Abuse Experienced - Research with children whose sexual abuse has been proven has shown that children tend to minimize and deny abuse, not exaggerate or over-report such incidents.

facts about recantation

Recantation in Child Sexual Abuse Cases - Rieser, Margaret - Child Welfare, v70 n6 p611-22 Nov-Dec 1991 - ERIC #: EJ436461 Reviews the literature on children’s retraction of their disclosure of having been sexually abused. The evidence indicates that very few lied originally. The circumstances that underlie recantation, including false allegations, secrecy, denial, lack of support, pressure to recant, societal attitudes, and intervening events, are discussed, and suggestions for mitigating them are offered.

Charles Whitfield in his book"Memory and Abuse - Remembering and Healing the Effects of Trauma" stated that the number of reported retractions is small when compared to the large number of actual child sexual abuse cases.

Summit in his study "The child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome" stated that a child may retract their story of abuse due to guilt and a feeling of obligation to protect their family and that people who retract previous allegations of incest made against family members may be reacting to the familial stress brought on by their allegations.

In a study by Jim Feuer, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, he stated that allegations made by child victims match closely with confessions of pedophiles and that 31 perpetrators confessed to a total of 101 acts of sexual abuse, some of which they committed multiple times.

Someone above mentioned the McMartin case. According to an L A Times article (Tapes of Children Decided the Case for Most Jurors) in 1990, at the press conference following the trial, 9 of the 11 jurors who agreed to be interviewed indicated that they believed the children had been molested.

Someone above also mentioned ritual abuse cases. In the study “Ritual Abuse: A Review of Research” by Kathleen Coulborn Faller (1994) in a survey of 2,709 members of the American Psychological Association, it was found that 30 percent of these professionals had seen cases of ritual or religion-related abuse (Bottoms, Shaver & Goodman, 1991). Of those psychologists who have seen cases of ritual abuse, 93 percent believed that the reported harm took place and 93 percent believed that the alleged ritualism occurred.

Furthermore, Bottoms, Shaver and Goodman in their 1993 study to evaluate ritual abuse claims found that in 2,292 alleged ritual abuse cases, 15% of the perpetrators in adult cases and 30% of the perpetrators in child cases confessed to the abuse. Data from Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (1998).”Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law”

To those (including "Neilesl") who seriously believe "false accusations of child abuse are rare," to me, that is sheer NONSENSE. And very convenient for officials in law enforcement who want the public to continue believing that such is the case when it is not.

While many cases are in fact true, there are also many accusations that are false. The problems arise when investigators insist that "all allegations are true" and refuse to do any investigating to determine the merits of each case, and investigate the background of the accuser as well as the accused. Why? That's an easy one, because if more police investigators did conduct more careful investigations into an accuser's background, as well as that of the accused, they might well find things they don't want the defense to know about. Things that could easily destroy a false accuser's credibility, and by extension, the prosecution's case. Then they might be forced to dismiss the case entirely, which they want to avoid at all costs.

For anyone who wants to do some serious research on the subject of false allegations of child sex abuse, go to many sites, not just one. There is an excellent book called Jeopardy in the Courtroom, A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony, by Stephen J. Ceci and Maggie Bruck. It is published by the American Psychological Association in Washington, DC. Copies of this outstanding book can be ordered directly from the publisher. Just google "American Psychological Association," and their website (with all the contact information) should be close to, if not at the very top, of the list.

The book is a bit more expensive (anywhere from $24-$29), but it is well worth the price, because it contains a great deal of valuable information about how false beliefs about ANYTHING can be planted in children's minds by professionals. I've read my copy more than once, and I highly recommend it.

I wanted to add just one or two more observations to what I previously wrote. The subject of "false allegations of child sex abuse" can be more thoroughly researched, simply by going to Google.com and typing in "False Allegations of Child Sex Abuse." Anyone will get a list of sites, including the one that "Neilesl" quoted.

I've read far too much material to buy the "false/mistaken accusations of child abuse are rare" argument. It doesn't convince me at all. The cases of Bakersfield, CA, not to mention the other high-profile cases across the country during the 1980's and 1990's, show these accusations aren't nearly as "rare" as some would have the American public believe. And we should all remember that simply because some BELIEVE something to be "true" doesn't mean that such a belief is fact. Does any rational adult still believe in imaginary figures such as Harvey The Rabbit and The Great Pumpkin?

Someone had asked why Jed Stoll believed (there's that tricky word again) he had been molested, when even he couldn't sufficiently explain WHY he believed it.

I also have a copy of a book called SURVIVING JUSTICE, which is a collection of roughly 15-20 stories of exonerated innocent people, including Mr. Stoll's story, in his own words. My copy is in paperback, and there is a small paragraph on page 183 (paragraph 2) that I'd like to quote:

"Now here was this poor traumatized little child [Jed Stoll]. Cutest little thing you ever saw. He comes walking in to the preliminary hearing, he walks over and sees me, big smile: "Hi, Daddy." Well, I thought the DA was going to [expletive omitted]: 'Your Honor, something's come up.' And she takes Jed into the hall. For maybe fifteen minutes he's out there. Here comes Jed, marching back in. He sits down, never looked at me again. Never. Every time we went to court he never ever looked at me again."

Here's another rather revealing paragraph, again from page 183, a few lines down:

"What did that woman [my guess, Lisa Green] say to my little boy in the hallway? That son of a [expletive omitted], what did she say to him? Stuff like that sticks, you don't ever forget it. But there was no jury (in the preliminary hearing), and nobody saw that he wasn't a little traumatized child. Nobody sees the kids, there is nothing written in the paper about them denying a lot of these charges against us. The only thing that's in the paper is we're going to trial for a zillion counts of child molestation. Nobody wrote that Jed looked like an all right kid."

I doubt anyone will ever know what she said in that hallway, but whatever it was, I am convinced the belief that he was "molested" (which I DON'T believe, by the way) was planted in little Jed's mind at that preliminary hearing, in that hallway by a prosecutor who cared far more about winning a case than innocence or truth.

I watched this very fine documentary last night (I had recorded it) and it was like reliving a nightmare. My husband spent a total of 5 years in prison over a false accusation. Unlike the people in the documentary, he took a plea, as do many, many others, simply because we know that if the case is taken before a jury they will convict, based on the evidence they are ALLOWED to see, and then be sentenced to 10, 20, 30 years or more. My husband had to stand up in front of a judge and the prosecutor and admit he molested a child. He didn't do this, there was never ever any proof that he did, but that just didn't matter. Now, after having lost our kids, our home, our very lives, we live with the second part of the witch hunt...the registry. My husband has to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He's lucky. He's considered a level 1 (least likely to reoffend), so his name is not published on the internet nor fliers sent out. Unfortunately, though, we are limited to where we can go and what we can do. My husband is still under supervision, still has to see a CCO (parole officer) twice a month, still subjected to quarterly polygraphs, still subjected to monthly drug tests (drugs and alcohol were never even brought up in all of this!), etc. He has two more years of this crap and then we can finally try to start rebuilding our lives. He will be 50 years old then and I 48. If we're lucky we might be able to get ourselves a house and some property just in time to retire and/or die.

I could go on and on about this subject. I realize I should be asking a question, but I don't really have one. I just felt I had to tell some of our story here.

I read some of the comments here and I just couldn't keep reading. It literally brought me to tears. To all of you who have been through this my heart breaks for you. I know what you've gone through and are going through. I know what you've lost. Our youngest daughter still won't speak to us, she believes the accusations as she has been brainwashed into believing it. She was 8 years old when all of this started...she's 18 now. I haven't seen her since she was 8. They had put her in a foster home at the time of my husband's arrest. CPS told me at the time that if I admitted that I believed my husband molested my older daughter I would get my younger daughter back. I refused to say he did things he didn't do. This was the price I paid. I lost my baby girl. How do I ever get that back? I can only imagine what kind of crap has been fed to her all of these years.

Bless you Sean Penn for having the courage to be associated with this subject. Bless you producers for having the courage to take on this subject. Bless MSNBC for bringing this to mainstream media.

By the way, our persecution started in 1997 in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. This stuff isn't just confined to California. It is NATION WIDE!

This is gonna be my first of what I hope are several comments as this kind of story makes me so violently angry that I think it'll just be easier to make several small comments instead of one larger one as I'm bound to forget something in my rage.

The people of Kern county-many of them anyway-should be extremely-to-no-end ashamed of themselves!!!! I mean, what's the @!$%#ing deal here?!! Even if he was unopposed in the last election, how could this VICIOUS FELON Ed Jagels possibly get 70% of the vote??!!!! Like, the only vote that should have even been cast if any at all should have come from the FOUL-SMELLING-RANCID-PIECE-OF-CRAP Jagels himself!!!! And how has this lump of toilet-@!$%# DA gotten so far as it is??!! He obviously should've been disposed of over 20 years ago!!

Another thing that should happen is this film should be shown nationally on the mainstream NBC network in PRIME TIME, and with several repeats at that!!!! And special care should be taken if need be, just in case of any local cronyism interference or opinions even within the station itself, to make sure that whatever local NBC affiliate in the Bakersfield area is forced and NOT allowed to somehow weasel out of any and all national, plus even some extra local airings, of the program!! And at least in case they haven't watched it, Ed Jagels and that @!$%# Lisa Green should be chained to hard seating in the county jail and forced to watch the film over and over for at least 24 hours, with no breaks, on a 50 inch screen with surround sound!!

It would also be highly advisable that anyone who in anyway shares our views, and therefore is not totally insane in the head, and who might be considering moving to Kern county, should seriously reconsider, as it is obviously a VERY dangerous place, and NOT because of any "REAL" crime/criminals in the area!!

I REALLY hope, even if it's a pipedream, that this film sets of a firestorm on the level of Bernie Madolf and AIG bonuses of nasty negative publicity toward at least the officials in Kern county and anyone who in any way supports the likes of scum like Lisa Green and Ed Jagels!!!!

Another comment to come soon. ;)

I think you would be surprised at how widespread this problem exists, not just in California. My daughter & her husband were falsely accused of child abuse. They were badgered, bullied & threatened to the point that they finally gave in & put the 2 year old child up for adoption with Division of Family Services. It was a well known fact that the judge we saw every month for 2 years was on drugs. I suspected that the DFS worker placed my grandson with a relative of hers. It also did not take much work to discover that there are 'adoption incentives' that well meaning senators have passed. In Missouri, each office that sucessfully adopts out a handicapped child receives $6,000. For a non handicapped child, it is $4,000. The family that got my grandson also adopted a 'handicapped' girl & boy. I had thought this would be an educated, sucessful family & I was shocked when I visited them to find a crowded, dirty home with no yard. The adoptive dad did not work, & the 'mom' made minimum wage. The 'mom' bragged that she made plenty of money from the 3 'disabled' kids & that the DFS worker from 300 miles away kept in touch with her. A few years later, the adopted girl told the school that the 'dad' had been sexually abusing all 3 kids since she had moved there. The DFS immediately removed the girl, but let the 2 boys stay. I attempted several times to get my grandson, but DFS refused. Eventually, the adoptive 'dad' pleaded guilty & was sentenced to prison. He died a year later, thank God. His wife had moved across the state 30 miles away from the prison so she could take the kids to see 'their father'. Eventually, the older boy also started acting out sexually. He now lives in a group home, but I worry how long that will last. It is a hell I live with constantly. If I could go back in time, I would have put my daughter & her family on a plane out of the country & joined them after I sold my house. We trusted that all would be ok since we had done nothing wrong. What a mistake that was. LG, central Missouri

Can somebody PLEASE tip off the Department of Justice and whomever else needs to know so that a serious probe can be launched on neighboring Tulare County? The judiciary there are in collusion with local political organizations to screw people over and extort them. I am getting firsthand experience with it.

Someone PLEASE help!!!!

This is a piece on the Lords of Bakersfield. It's all about powerful men in Bakersfield preying on teen age boys. It's all pretty disturbing.

This is an excerpt of one of the articles: (Stephen Tauzer was Assistant DA)

If it's true that Stephen Tauzer's relationship with a young drug addict led to his own brutal murder last September, uncomfortable questions could be asked of Kern County's district attorney. By all accounts, Tauzer went to bat in an unprecedented way for Lance Hillis, giving him money, cars and lodging, and writing letters to judges on Lance's behalf. Standing watch through it all was Tauzer's boss and longtime friend, Ed Jagels.

I read a piece of media the other day that stated that 1 out of 37 adults in America are in jail. This thing that happened in Bakersfield is just the tip of the glacier.

sorry this is the link

I guess links don't get posted. Just Google "Lords of Bakersfield"