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Eberle, Paul and Shirley The Abuse of Innocence, 1993

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Eberle, Paul and Shirley
The Abuse of Innocence, 1993
The McMartin Preschool trial


Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews , March 1, 1993
A zealous denunciation of a bizarre child-abuse ``witch hunt'' that's undermined by the authors' determination to spin some equally strange conspiracy theories of their own. The McMartin Preschool, for 18 years a popular fixture in the affluent L.A. suburb of Manhattan Beach, rocketed to notoriety following a complaint lodged by an arguably unstable parent whose charges, in addition to sexual abuse, included the beheading of infants and the drinking of their blood. An inflammatory letter sent to parents by local police; interviews with hundreds of children by unlicensed therapists using unproven, possibly manipulative, methods; strategic leaks to the press--all created a frenzy leading to seven years of litigation in which none of the original seven defendants--who lost their assets, reputations, and livelihoods--were found guilty of anything. Trying to pin down what went wrong, the Eberles (Pity the Little Children, 1986--not reviewed) prove to be convincing, if one-sided, defenders of the accused--at least when they stick to court transcripts. But their analysis--ranging from petty cracks about the hairstyles of lawyers to ominous hints of government plots (``an agenda to compel mindless conformity and blind obedience'')--repeatedly tips from outrageous and undocumented to what some might consider, at best, transparently alarmist. Important themes--such as the dangers arising from the use of jailhouse informants and from the political considerations of elected law-enforcement officials--are lost in a scattershot barrage of unexplored red herrings (e.g., three sightings of a mysterious ``fat man with a moustache'') and dark musings (``persons at the highest levels of power'' must have guided CBS-TV's decision to show two films on child abuse prior to jury deliberations). The McMartin defendants, evidently treated unfairly by their accusers, have been ill-served once again. (First printing of 30,000)


Synopsis
Two investigative journalists uncover the facts behind the costliest child abuse case in history, including the mass hysteria, the lack of evidence, and more. By the authors of The Politics of Child Abuse. 30,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo.


Booknews, Inc. , September 1, 1993
The case of the teachers and administrator accused of child abuse at the McMartin Preschool is horrifying--whether the allegations were true or false, some people (children or adults) were terribly wronged. Reporters Eberle and Eberle were at the trial, and they see the accused as the victims. Quoting heavily from the transcripts (with substantial interjection of their own interpretation), they depict gross mishandling of the children's testimony by people trying to build a case where there was none. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.