Gerald Amirault

Gerald A. "Tooky" Amirault (born March 1, 1954) is an American convicted in 1986 of child sexual abuse of eight children at the Fells Acres Day School in Malden, Massachusetts, run by his family. He and his family deny the charges, which supporters regard as a conspicuous example of day-care sex-abuse hysteria. Amirault was released from prison on parole on April 30, 2004.

Gerald Amirault
Born
Gerald A. Amirault

(1954-03-01) March 1, 1954
United States
Other namesTooky
OccupationChild care provider
Criminal statusReleased on parole (2004)
SpousePatricia Amirault (m. 1977)
Children3
Conviction(s)Rape and abuse of a child (1986, 8 counts)
Indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age (1986, 7 counts)[1]
TrialFells Acres day care sexual abuse trial
Criminal penalty30–40 years in state prison

Accusations and trial

Amirault was arrested in September 1984 on charges of sexually abusing a child at his family's day care facility, which promptly had its license to operate suspended by the state of Massachusetts.[2][3][4] His mother and sister, Violet Amirault and Cheryl Amirault LeFave, respectively, were also later arrested.

At Amirault's 1986 trial, the prosecution relied heavily on testimony from young children extracted through long sessions with therapists. Amirault was convicted of assaulting and raping nine children and sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison.[5] In 1987, in a separate trial, his mother and sister were convicted of similar crimes against four children and sentenced to jail for eight to 20 years.[6]

Further information: Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial

Criticism

The Amiraults insist they were victims of the day-care sex-abuse hysteria that swept the US in the 1980s.[5]

Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the Editorial Board of The Wall Street Journal, asserts that Amirault was railroaded. She wrote that "Other than such testimony, the prosecutors had no shred of physical or other proof that could remotely pass as evidence of abuse".[7] Among the accusations were, as summarized by Rabinowitz from court records, Amirault

had plunged a wide-blade butcher knife into the rectum of a 4-year-old boy, which he then had trouble removing. When a teacher in the school saw him in action with the knife, she asked him what he was doing, and then told him not to do it again, a child said. On this testimony, Gerald was convicted of a rape which had, miraculously, left no mark or other injury.[7]

Rabinowitz was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2001,[8] partly for her coverage of the case.[9] The case was also the major topic of her book about miscarriages of justice, No Crueler Tyrannies.

Post-trial

In 1995, Judge Robert Barton ordered a new trial for Violet, then 72, and Cheryl, who both had been imprisoned eight years. He ordered the women released at once and expressed his contempt for the prosecutors.[7] Barton found that their convictions were wrongful because they were not able to directly confront their accusers.[10] A similar appeal on behalf of Gerald was denied later that year.[11]

In 1997, Superior Court Judge Isaac Borenstein presided over a widely publicized hearing into the case resulting in findings that all the children's testimony was tainted. He said that "Every trick in the book had been used to get the children to say what the investigators wanted."[7] Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly published a scathing editorial in September 1999 directed at the prosecutors "who seemed unwilling to admit they might have sent innocent people to jail for crimes that had never occurred."[7][12] Violet died in 1997.[13] Cheryl's conviction was ultimately upheld, but she avoided returning to prison by reaching a deal with prosecutors in October 1999.[14]

In 2000, the Massachusetts Governor's Board of Pardons and Paroles met to consider a commutation of Gerald Amirault's sentence. After nine months of investigation, the board voted 5–0, with one abstention, to commute his sentence, although no exculpatory evidence was presented. Also newsworthy was an added statement, signed by a majority of the board, which pointed to the lack of evidence against the Amiraults, and the "extraordinary if not bizarre allegations" on which they had been convicted.[7]

In 2002, then–Acting Governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift refused to commute Amirault's sentence, despite a unanimous vote in favor of his release by the state's parole board. Amirault's case had previously been upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.[15] Martha Coakley, then Middlesex County district attorney and subsequently Massachusetts Attorney General, lobbied Swift to keep him in prison.[16] Swift denied Amirault's clemency.[17]

Amirault was ultimately released on parole from the Bay State Correctional Center on April 30, 2004, 18 years after his conviction.[18][19] Accusers criticized his early release.[20]

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recommended Gerald Amirault and his sister Cheryl Amirault LeFave for pardon on November 18, 2022, subject to approval by the Massachusetts Governor's Council.[21] The pardon recommendation was withdrawn by Baker on December 14, 2022, as "there didn’t appear to be enough support" within the council.[22][23]

References
  1. "Level 3 Sex Offender - Detail Flyer | Gerald A Amirault". MA.us. Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011 – via Wayback Machine.
  2. "Day care center is shut down". Corpus Christi Times. AP. September 13, 1984. p. 20A. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  3. "Late News Line". The Pensacola News. AP. September 13, 1984. p. 2. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  4. "Day care center still closed after rape charge". Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. September 14, 1984. p. 3. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Leung, Rebecca (April 27, 2004). "A Family Accused: Employees At Day Care Center Accused Of Abusing Children". CBS. Archived from the original on August 28, 2004. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  6. Rabinowitz, D (1995-03-14). "A Darkness in Massachusetts--II". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2003-08-26. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  7. Rabinowitz, Dorothy (January 14, 2010). "Martha Coakley's Convictions". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  8. "The Pulitzer Prizes | Citation". Pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  9. "The Pulitzer Prizes | A Hearing in Boston". Pulitzer.org. 2000-10-31. Archived from the original on 2005-04-16.
  10. "Day Care Workers Get Retrial, As Accusers Did Not Face Them". The New York Times. 1995-08-30. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  11. Ranalli, Ralph (May 1, 2004). "Amirault released from prison, bringing Fells Acres case to end". The Boston Globe. p. B6. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  12. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Editorial: Travesty of Justice, Sept. 13, 1999.
  13. Ellement, John; Doherty, William F. (September 13, 1997). "Violet Amirault, center of child rape case, dies at 74". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  14. Rakowsky, Judy (October 22, 1999). "LeFave granted freedom". The Boston Globe. p. 1. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  15. "Gerald Amirault's Freedom: Today he leaves prison, after serving 18 years on phony charges". Wall Street Journal. April 30, 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
  16. Mei Ling Rein (2005). Child abuse: betraying a trust. Detroit: Thomson/Gale. p. 104. ISBN 0-7876-9068-6.
  17. Pollitt, Katha (February 28, 2002). "Justice, Not So Swift: Subject to Debate". The Nation. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  18. Rabinowitz, Dorothy (May 28, 2004). "Homecoming: Gerald Amirault enjoys his first days of freedom in 18 years". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 17, 2005. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  19. Lawrence, J.M. (May 1, 2005). "'Tooky' Amirault walks free after 18 years". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  20. Lavoie, Denise (May 1, 2004). "Amirault release from prison after 18 years". North Adams Transcript. North Adams, Massachusetts. AP. p. 10. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  21. Stout, Matt (2022-11-18). "Baker recommends pardons for siblings convicted in Fells Acres day-care abuse case". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  22. LeBlanc, Steve (December 14, 2022). "Massachusetts governor abandons pardons in sex abuse case". apnews.com. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  23. Scott, Ivy; Stout, Matt; Alanez, Tonya (December 14, 2022). "Baker withdraws controversial pardon requests in Fells Acres child abuse case". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
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