The McMartin Trial
In 1983 a mother named Judy Johnson accused teachers at a preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, of physically and sexually abusing her young son. A number of other employees, many of whom were related to the owner and founder of the school, were also named as perpetrators. As police began an investigation into the matter, Judy Johnson’s stories became more and more extreme, involving numerous other children, and suggesting what would later become known as “Satanic Ritual Abuse.” Problems acquiring physical evidence and reliable information from the children further inflamed the accusations against the school and its employees. What followed was the single most expensive and spectacular prosecutorial failure in United States history, as well-meaning law enforcement officials and child advocates became swept up in the “satanic panic” hysteria. How do we advocate for our children without succumbing to irrational fears about their safety? How do we avoid scapegoating others in a rush to justify our own feelings of anxiety?