Dad's arrest in sex case results in $1.8M settlement

[The Straight Story]

More than three years after police in West Bloomfield arrested a man and accused him of raping his autistic daughter, the township's insurance carrier has agreed to pay his family and attorney $1.8 million to settle a wrongful-arrest suit.

Julian Wendrow served 80 days in jail and faced life in prison; his wife, Thal Wendrow, faced decades behind bars, accused of allowing assaults to happen. Their 14-year-old daughter, who cannot speak, and their son, 13, were in foster care.


• Watch the video: See how police interrogated the 13-year-old.

The evidence against them? A statement the girl, who functions as a 2-year-old, reportedly typed with the help of a teacher's aide. The statement claimed her father had raped her since age 7 as her mother stood by. A physical exam showed no evidence of abuse.

Prosecutors dropped the case in March 2008 for lack of evidence, but township lawyers deny any police wrongdoing.

...

The claim came from a method known as facilitated communication, in which the aide helped the girl type on a keyboard.


http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=20110112&Kategori=NEWS03&Lopenr=101120405&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle

[notadmblnd]

1. Those police have scared that child for life

And it's very sad. Before my husband died a similar situation happened to him (my sister left her abusive ex and we gave her and her children a place to stay. The ex made up a story and got one of his daughters to go along with it, to get her to go back. He figured if she didn't have a place to stay, she would have no choice but to go home) All charges were eventually dropped. But it was an expensive and horrific lesson to learn about what can happen when you help people. I'm certain the stress from the episode contributed to his death. It wasn't the West Bloomfiled or Walled Lk department. It was the Auburn Hills department. But I blame the Oakland County prosecutors office more than the police.

I'm glad these people got to sue and won their case.

[Patiod]

11. What a horrible story, notadmblnd

Just awful

My SO and I have adopted the motto "no good deed goes unpunished". Not that it stops us from helping out, but we're no longer surprised when there are negative consequences.

[FreakinDJ]

2. Who was this "Sick" teacher's aid who prompted that message

[Throckmorton]

3. "facilitated communication" is a fraud. N/T

[LisaL]

8. I'd say.

To believe it, I am supposed to accept that someone who can not talk and functions at the level of a two year old is typing on her own.
How does that make any sense?

[eppur_se_muova]

13. I thought FC was pretty well debunked by 60 Minutes.

Frontline also did a documentary: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/transcripts/1202.html

[WolverineDG]

4. This is why I always take such allegations with a huge grain of salt

Of course, if you point out such things when the news initially breaks on DU, the "believe every allegation of abuse no matter how ludicrous" society tries to get you TS'd.

dg

[Schema Thing]

6. I personally know a woman who had false memories (aided or caused by a "therapist")

...who accused her father of abuse.

Still, I think the vast majority of accusations, if they come directly from the alleged victim, are true.

I try to be 100% agnostic as to guilt or innocence when I hear accusations now.

[LisaL]

9. This case was a facilitated communications.

Supposedly the aid was "helping" the girl to type about the abuse, but when this went before a judge, the girl couldn't even answer what color her sweater was.

[WolverineDG]

12. "recovered memories" are such bs

especially those "recovered" decades after the alleged abuse. There's a case in/around Kansas City in which the allegations are so completely wild, they are patently false. All stem from hypnosis with a "therapist," & no evidence has yet been found to back up any of the bullshit claims that were made.

The truth in those cases can never be established because the "victim" now believes the "recovered memories." Who are they a victim of then? Sexual abuse? Or a therapist's perverted fantasies?

dg

[lumberjack_jeff]

5. Watch the video. $1.8m wasn't enough. n/t

[Iggo]

7. They're still using facilitated communication?

Wasn't that debunked like 20 years ago? (Or was that a Law & Order episode?)

[CBGLuthier]

10. I saw that episode

Too bad the cops and prosecutors didn't