Yikes. Another example of why government types should be pondered with skepticism… especially in relation to children.
Children: Father didn’t abuse us: Ex-Vancouver police officer spent nearly 20 years in prison
The two adult children of former Vancouver police officer Clyde Ray Spencer, who spent nearly 20 years in prison after being convicted of molesting them, testified in court Friday the abuse never happened.
A 33-year-old son recalled how, at age 9, he was repeatedly questioned, alone, by now-retired Detective Sharon Krause of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. He said after months of questioning, he said he was abused to get Krause to leave him alone.
…
He hired Seattle attorney Peter Camiel in the mid-1990s. Camiel and a private investigator uncovered several disturbing facts about the investigation — including that prosecutors withheld medical exams that showed no evidence of abuse, despite Krause’s claims that the children had been violently, repeatedly raped — and those discoveries led Gov. Gary Locke to commute Spencer’s sentence in 2004.
Ye gods. For the life of me I have no idea why the testimony of children is *ever* taken seriously. Their grasp on reality is really tenuous, and they are easily manipulated… especially, it seems, by overzealous prosecutors. When forensic evidence is at hand – as was the case here – that should take precedence over the stories of kids. When forensic evidence is withheld – as was the case here – the prosecutor needs to be put up on charges. I can only hope that if Spencer succeeds in clearing his name, he sues the bejeesus out of not only the courts, but Krause. Twenty years of back pay plus interest.
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