Rascals case in brief
In the beginning, in 1989, more than 90 children at the Little Rascals Day Care Center in Edenton, North Carolina, accused a total of 20 adults with 429 instances of sexual abuse over a three-year period. It may have all begun with one parent’s complaint about punishment given her child.
Among the alleged perpetrators: the sheriff and mayor. But prosecutors would charge only Robin Byrum, Darlene Harris, Elizabeth “Betsy” Kelly, Robert “Bob” Kelly, Willard Scott Privott, Shelley Stone and Dawn Wilson – the Edenton 7.
Along with sodomy and beatings, allegations included a baby killed with a handgun, a child being hung upside down from a tree and being set on fire and countless other fantastic incidents involving spaceships, hot air balloons, pirate ships and trained sharks.
By the time prosecutors dropped the last charges in 1997, Little Rascals had become North Carolina’s longest and most costly criminal trial. Prosecutors kept defendants jailed in hopes at least one would turn against their supposed co-conspirators. Remarkably, none did. Another shameful record: Five defendants had to wait longer to face their accusers in court than anyone else in North Carolina history.
Between 1991 and 1997, Ofra Bikel produced three extraordinary episodes on the Little Rascals case for the PBS series “Frontline.” Although “Innocence Lost” did not deter prosecutors, it exposed their tactics and fostered nationwide skepticism and dismay.
With each passing year, the absurdity of the Little Rascals charges has become more obvious. But no admission of error has ever come from prosecutors, police, interviewers or parents. This site is devoted to the issues raised by this case.
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Little Rascals Day Care Case
This Facebook page is an offshoot of littlerascalsdaycarecase.org, which addresses the wrongful prosecution of the Edenton Seven and other such victims.
Meanwhile in Edenton....
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Allies for our cause!
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The courts have a long history of capriciously pulling the rug out from under Junior's appeals, but maybe this time....
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Today’s random selection from the Little Rascals Day Care archives….
Prosecutors followed playbook from 16th century
Nov. 4, 2011
“A mere suspicion of witchcraft justifies the immediate arrest and torture of the suspected person….
“A prisoner may be promised immunity or reduced punishment if he accuses his accomplices.”
– From “On the Demon-Mania of Witches” by Jean Bodin, French judge (1580)
Prosecutors still digging in their heels?
March 7, 2016
“Have any public officials apologized to Dudley?
“No.”
– From “Howard Dudley’s new life: restaurants, cellphones and a cemetery visit” (cached) by Joseph Neff in the News & Observer (March 5)
Aw, what’s to apologize for – it was only 23 years of wrongful imprisonment (cached)….
When ‘backlash spewed,’ Judy Abbott blamed ‘falsehoods’
Oct. 19, 2012
“The backlash spewed from the guilty verdicts in the Little Rascals Day Care case have (sic) been painful and difficult to hear and live with. Those of us who advocate for the rights of children often feel that the gains made on their behalf over the past few years are eroding under falsehoods propagated by individuals who’s (sic) motives are undetermined.”
– From “Little Rascals Day Care Center Case: The Bitter Lesson, a Healthy Reminder” by Judith Steltzner Abbott (1994)
If the editors of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse set aside six pages in hopes therapist Judy Abbott might respond thoughtfully to the Little Rascals “backlash,” they were surely disappointed. Instead, she dodged reality with platitudes and self-congratulation.
Of course, even to acknowledge the concerns of her falsehood-propagating critics (the ones with “motives undetermined”) might have put at risk her nomination for the Distinguished Women of North Carolina Award.
‘Satanic ritual abuse’ in Sodom? Of course!
Oct. 7, 2015
“Sodom Laurel was first named Revere, and is still Revere on topographical maps, but I seldom hear anyone call it anything but Sodom. (Madison County native Dellie Norton said) she had heard that years ago, when logging first came to the region, there were numerous logging camps and a lot of men away from home, with money and time on their hands. Violence and promiscuity were rampant. Dellie had heard that a preacher, upon arriving in Revere and having seen the residents firsthand, remarked ‘You people are just like a bunch of Sodomites.’ The name stuck.
“Lately, partly for religious reasons and, of course, the negative connotations of the name Sodom, some community members have started using the name Revere again…. But also times have changed – the community is quieter than it used to be – Revere seems a more apt description of the place.”
– From “Sodom Laurel Album” by Rob Amberg (2002)
I guess it fits that a defendant unfortunate enough to be charged with “satanic ritual abuse” would also be unfortunate enough to have his hometown known as Sodom – a coincidence surely snickered about in the culturally hostile courtroom in Asheville where Junior Chandler was convicted.
Coincidentally, the district attorney in a Hendersonville ritual abuse prosecution infamously ranted about Michael Alan Parker’s having resided in “Sodom and Saluda.” (The jury bought his Bible-pounding, but Saludans weren’t pleased.)