Kern county child abuse cases
During the years 1983-1986, numerous child molestation cases were tried in Kern County, California. Various bizarre satanic ritual abuses by sex rings were alleged. In total, up to 60 children testified to the truth of these allegations. At least eight people were convicted, and most of them spent long times in prison. All cases were eventually overturned: the children had been subjected to suggestive interrogation techniques at the time of the trials, and many later recanted.
The initial case was that of Alvin and Debbie McCuan; in 1982 the two daughters, coached by their step-grandmother who had custody for them, alleged abuse by their parents and pointed out other members of the sex ring, including Scott and Brenda Kniffen. The Kniffen's two sons also confirmed abuse. No physical evidence was found. In 1984, the McCuan's and Kniffen's were convicted and each sentenced to hundreds of years in prison.
In September 1984, an unrelated case against Margie Grafton, Tim Palomo, Grant Self and John Stoll started; they were accused of having formed a sex ring to abuse young boys, including the production of child pornography. Various boys testified at the trial; again no physical evidence was presented. All four defendants were sentenced to long prison sentences. The convictions of Margie Grafton and Tim Palomo were overturned quickly on technicalities.
Some six similar cases then ensued in Kern county; they stopped only when children began to accuse police officers and social workers of being members of sex rings.
The Kern county events marked the beginning of a series of over forty similar cases all over North America, lasting until about 1995.
The convictions of the McCuan's and Kniffen's were overturned in 1996 and the two couples were released. In 2001, a TV movie about the plight of the Kniffen's was released under the name Just ask my children.
Grant Self and John Stoll had to wait until 2004 for the reversal of their convictions.
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