'Where did Bobby touch you?' as leading the child to say that he
touched her there?"
'"No, I don't think so," Keeley replied.
"You don't think that's leading?"
"No."
Black and Miller also called on experts who testified that young
children could be conditioned to make false allegations - which they
would later believe to be true - if an "air of accusation" was created.
Stephen Ceci, a psychology professor at Cornell University, was asked:
"If a child was brought into a therapist's office and told, 'It's all
right to talk about the things Bobby did to you here,' would that be
creating an air of accusation?"
"Yes," Ceci replied. He described a study in which children, after
being interviewed several times, supplied details about an event that
had never occurred. "Over time, they became more confident and added
more detail."
"Can you alter the memory of a child who didn't have an experience?"
"Unquestionably," Ceci said.
Richard A. Gardner, a physician on the faculty of Columbia University,
also testified: "Emotions have an infectious quality, and children are
suggestible. If a parent is frightened of something, the child will
pick up the message." When questioned about Keeley's tapes, Gardner
exclaimed, "This is not therapy. This is a brainwashing process from
the word go."
Miller and Black also set out to refute the medical evidence. One by
one, the defense established that the doctors who had examined the
children were not specialists in pediatric gynecology.
By contrast, Black called an authority in the field, Dr. David Muram. A
frequent consultant with prosecutors in child sex abuse cases, this was
the first time he had testified for the defense. Based on his study of
photographs and records, the examinations of the children showed "no
physical evidence of sexual abuse."
On at least four occasions Judge Gerstein called Bobby, his parents and
attorneys into his chambers to make sure the defendant understood what
a guilty verdict would mean: he'd go to prison, not just the detention
center. Others pointed out he would be subject to rape, brutality, even
death at the hands of other inmates.
The prosecutors offered a plea bargain. If he confessed his crimes,
Bobby would go to a treatment facility for sexual offenders, not
prison. Then he would be free.
Bobby looked at his mother as tears streamed down her cheeks. Finally
he spoke. "No. I'm not guilty."
Soon he took the stand to say that to the jury. Under questioning by
Black, he denied committing any acts of abuse. Black asked him about
the confession.
"I was scared," Bobby said. "My father wasn't there. I wasn't feeling
too well. I was worried if he was going to let me out."
As their final witness, Black and Miller called Dr. Michael Novogroder,
an expert on juvenile diabetes. Bobby's blood sugar was so low at the
time of the confession, he testified, that his cognitive response could
have been impaired.
On May 3, 1991, the jurors retired to deliberate the defendant's fate.
Next morning, they returned.
ONCE JANET RENO had arrived and the jury had filed in, the
courtroom.grew quiet. To each and every count, the clerk pronounced an
unequivocal "Not Guilty."
Sobbing, Bobby hugged Black, then embraced his family.
"The jury has spoken, and we accept its verdict," State Attorney Reno
said at the courthouse.
Without alerting the Fijnjes or their lawyers, prosecutors considered
new charges. One girl had appeared on videotape during the trial, but
her name had not been included in the original indictment. Forensic
interviewer Tascha Boychuk was asked to interview her again. But no new
evidence emerged, and the little girl's story had changed at several
points. Still, she was sent to a doctor for a physical exam. There was
no evidence of abuse. Only then did the prosecutors stop.
"There was no credible evidence of any sexual abuse," concludes
University of Utah psychology professor David C. Raskin, who had
testified for the defense. "The kids initially had nothing to say about
abuse. Only with the work of therapists over a number of months and
constant pressure from parents did any allegations emerge. Then you had
an ambitious State Attorney who wanted to make a name for herself. The
result was a tragic miscarriage of justice."
The Fijnjes applied to Judge Gerstein to certify the costs they
incurred during the trial so they could be reimbursed by the county.
Even though Florida law required it, Gerstein refused, relenting only
when an appellate court ordered him to.
CITING her record in combating child abuse, and saying, "She has truly
put people first," President Clinton nominated Janet Reno to be the
Attorney General of the United States.
When he heard this, Bob Fijnje sent a letter to members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee; in it he charged that Reno had "abused my son by
her actions and robbed him of one year, eight months and one week of
his life." No one called him about it. No Senator questioned Reno about
the case, and she was confirmed by a vote of 98 to 0.
The Fijnjes moved to Holland. During a recent interview, the boy
reflected with quiet anger on his long ordeal: "In my case, the phrase
'Innocent until proven guilty' was turned around. I was guilty before
being proven innocent. I just hope my story will prevent others from
being persecuted for what they haven't done."
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Copyright 1993 - Reader's Digest
Reprinted without permission
Posted to Child_Abuse_Issues for purposes of discussion
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