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Host Lipsyte still outside welcomes audience to the first of a two-part series on institutional child sex-abuse.

Suburban commuter train station, train rolling through sounding horn.

Montage of shots from the quaint town of Maplewood, homes with green front lawns, man mowing lawn, school busses. Narration about the town by Diane Diamond.

Pan out from crowd of young school children gathered on sidewalk, to elementary school with large green front lawn.

Diamond reporting stopping in front of stone Episcopal Church - reporting details of pre-school child sex-abuse scandal.

Gary Moylan in empty court room talking with unseen unknown interviewer about accused pedophile Kelly Michael.

Pan out from upper window at St. George's Church (pre school). Diamond reporting from playground outside

Diamond still outside St. George's Church giving horrific details of the abuse case.

Article in Harper's Magazine by Rabinowitz with renderings of two children's faces on the cover and a gavel in between them - in the article Rabinowitz claims Michaels was framed.

Sign on wall, "Eileen C. Treacy, M.A. Psychological & Consultation Services

Exterior shots the Newark Courthouse, Michaels walking toward the building holding the arm of someone (unknown)

Diamond walking into empty courtroom and reporting about the days of the trial

Gary Moylan, Attorney for Wee Care Children speaking from empty courtroom to unseen interviewer talking about there not being any physical evidence

Photo still Michaels dressed in pink outside courtroom with unknown woman after verdict, media taking photos.

Michaels in handcuffs getting into waiting police car and being taken away.

Cutaway to child psychologist, Eileen Treacy. She states the children were frightened just by the mention of Michaels name.

Back with Stavis who compassionately and angrily talks about the trial and the manipulative events that took place.

People filing into courtroom in McMartin Daycare Center case in California

Elderly woman, Virginia McMartin - school operator, with tiny stuffed animal pins on her jacket sitting in court room

Crowd gathered at courtroom after verdict in the McMartin Daycare Center Case - Diamond reporting, unseen, this was the longest most expensive criminal trial in US history.

Map of USA with yellow dots indicating child abuse cases.

Back with Attny Morton Stavis in his office talking with unseen interviewer he states emphatically "we're going through quite a period of hysteria about these child sex abuse cases".

Child psychologist Treacy talking with unseen unknown interviewer states that Michaels was a very clever, intelligent, child molester.

INTERVIEW: MICHAELS.

Robert Lipsyte:
someone reading about this case, from a distance, how difficult it is to believe that all those precise charges were totally fabricated.

Kelly Michaels
I think when one looks at a distance, possibly so because you don't want to believe that the state would have put so much money, and so much effort, and so much publicity, and put the parents and the children and me through such a ringer. But they have and it is fabricated. And I think if one does examine the evidence, examine the case. And also in light of the whole trend of daycare, which showcases to see this is just an awful phenomenon that has arisen out of panic and misinformation and opportunism and lots of horrible things

Robert Lipsyte
you must have replayed over and over again, in your mind everything that you did at Wee Care. Could there have been anything that you did do that was blown out of proportion?

Kelly Michaels
Absolutely not. I don't think I don't think in hindsight that Mother Teresa would have gotten off in this case, I think the forces that were working at my trial would no matter who was on trial, nothing occurred at that school, I believe, that I ever saw. Even any other teacher do that was to me even remotely criminal. So I think it had nothing to do with it. I think they were normal activities. That in questioning and through the process of preparing these children for trial and therapy sessions in group therapies and trips to the psychologist and trips to this prosecutor's office sort of evolved into something. The primary quote unquote, evidence was behaviors was not activities that were done at school because they didn't see anything was no witnesses to it. There was no expressions for children of anything during the school year, there were behaviors. That's really another primary thing that took a different twist. A child having a fascination with superheroes like Superman bedwetting, or nightmares or fear of the dark or not wanting to go to school or having temper tantrums. See these normal behaviors. Parents were told by psychologists Well, these are also potential signs of abuse. See, so that's another thing that looking back, you know, suddenly those things to go in a different light, as well as the more activities at the school

Robert Lipsyte
in in looking back. Would you have changed any of your behavior?

Kelly Michaels
No, because you may not have, they might have appreciate how I dressed or the music I liked, or the books I read. But I treated those children with respect and dignity. I never harmed a single one. I treat them with care. So no, no.

Robert Lipsyte
Will Kelly Michaels have a life before wee care. But this never emerged at the trial. There were no character witnesses Why?

Kelly Michaels
I believe that was something that the prosecutor, excuse me, the defense had decided upon and beginning not to speak to the media. Not to bring character witnesses to stick to the facts, because my defense attorneys believed that just based upon time, space and opportunity, the crimes were not possible to have been committed and to stick to that narrow line of facts that these things could never have happened. They're impossible. Maybe in hindsight, we would have done things differently. I was very naive. I'd never been in trouble before my life not even a parking ticket. And I you know what their decisions at the time.

Robet Lipsyte
People who watched the trial so that you seem numb during the trial where you

Kelly Michaels
I think very early on, knowing that this was not about me that helped me psycho psychological way to sort of detach myself, I think numbness might have might have been a good word. I couldn't believe I was there. I couldn't believe this was happening. This was sort of like a nightmare, a madness this or just enveloped my life. I couldn't believe people were giving credence to these charges. I couldn't believe no one was questioning them. Just that there was a shock every day, shocked my psyche, I couldn't believe it. My family. Also, we just can't believe people are believing this or at least not openly saying what the hell is happening here. I think there's a whole lot of pain. But at the trial, I think I just anger and rage and innocence. You know, and that sort of gave me a certain amount of back backbone and to go everyday was horrible. Horrible. I think also, the state had banded around that I had theater theatrical training, you know, as if to say that Oh, wives tale, every actress is where we're able to act constantly. You know, like, I've been following people for 28 years of my life to think I'm a nice, normal, decent human being, you know, don't shed a tear. I will say that's acting, you know, so I think it was maybe another effort not to, show a lot of emotion.

Robert Lipsyte
Did any of the Wee Care teachers stand up for you.

Kelly Michaels
At first. Pretty much all of them, all of them said that they never heard or saw anything. And even that was to trial, we'll say that there was one in particular, Diane Costa, who really came forward, a grand jury and said, This woman was a good teacher. In fact, the children loved her. And when she was sick, they asked about her, they missed her. She said that I was a fine teacher. She also said she never heard anything, never saw anything it was and she could not believe the things could ever have had with the school. She was also the most important, really most important teacher there because she was program director second in command from the director, who was there every day, who had close contact with the teachers and setting up schedules. And new parents who've been there nine years knew teachers knew schedule. She was very important person. And she was indicted. Just I think one or two charges, which really kept her advocate she couldn't testify on my behalf.

Robert Lipsyte
In retrospect, you have any anger those children now?

Kelly Michaels
No, no, I feel they were used and put through awful process totally unnecessary. And when I look back, my anger comes when I look back. And I remember that school year, and I see a lot of healthy, exuberant, talkative children going through that school year, nothing happening to them to see all of that worked and ruined. My anger is not an alternative them because they were they were helped us. I mean, when mom and dad says you're going to therapy, and according to the psychiatrists, and are going to the prosecutor's office again, they have no say they must go. Just such needless pain. And for everyone,

Robert Lipsyte
let's look at it this way. Why do you think anyone would want to believe the children instead of believing you?

Kelly Michaels
I have a big problem with that. Because I know in the beginning, all the children's had nothing happened to them and they weren't believed, came into a process of believing of believing that Kelly Michaels is a mean horrible person. I think what's very natural, of course, we want to believe children, you want to protect them. And that's what we should be doing. But they weren't protected here. An enormous amount of unchallenged power was given to to social workers and to psychologists to self proclaimed experts. That really much pretty much came to us parents saying we know more about your kidney than you do. That's very frightening. And as I saw from the beginning, when this case began, up until trial time, I noticed a trial a bunch of people have parents who had relinquished parental control to these people, a good amount of control. These people were dependent upon these experts give them answers for their children. And these people should be held accountable.

Lipsyte standing outside the Maximum Security Facility in Clinton, New Jersey announces the continuation of this story on tomorrow night's program.

Show credits

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