Gerald Amirault
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Gerald A. "Tooky" Amirault (born March 1, 1954) is an American convicted in 1986 of
child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
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.


Accusations and trial

Amirault was arrested in September 1984 on charges of sexually abusing a child at his family's
day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
facility, which promptly had its license to operate suspended by the state of Massachusetts. 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. 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.


Criticism

The Amiraults insist they were victims of the day-care sex-abuse hysteria that swept the US in the 1980s.
Dorothy Rabinowitz Dorothy Rabinowitz is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and commentator. She was born in New York City, and attained a bachelor's degree at Queens College. She worked toward a doctorate at New York University from 1957 to 1960, but di ...
, a member of the Editorial Board of ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', 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". Among the accusations were, as summarized by Rabinowitz from court records, Amirault Rabinowitz was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary The Pulitzer Prize for Commentary is an award administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism "for distinguished commentary, using any available journalistic tool". It is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes that are ...
in 2001, partly for her coverage of the case. The case was also the major topic of her book about
miscarriages of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...
, ''
No Crueler Tyrannies Dorothy Rabinowitz is a Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist and commentator. She was born in New York City, and attained a bachelor's degree at Queens College, New York, Queens College. She worked toward a doctorate at New York University ...
''.


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. Barton found that their convictions were wrongful because they were not able to directly confront their accusers. A similar appeal on behalf of Gerald was denied later that year. 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." ''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." Violet died in 1997. Cheryl's conviction was ultimately upheld, but she avoided returning to prison by reaching a deal with prosecutors in October 1999. 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. In 2002, then–Acting
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachuset ...
Jane Swift refused to commute Amirault's sentence, despite a unanimous vote in favor of his release by the state's
parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
board. Amirault's case had previously been upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Martha Coakley Martha Mary Coakley (born July 14, 1953) is an American lobbyist and lawyer who served as Attorney General of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. Prior to serving as Attorney General, she was District Attorney of Middlesex County from 1999 to 20 ...
, then Middlesex County district attorney and subsequently
Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder ...
, lobbied Swift to keep him in prison. Swift denied Amirault's clemency. Amirault was ultimately released on parole from the
Bay State Correctional Center Bay State Correctional Center (BSCC) was a small, general population medium security facility that stood on the grounds of the original dormitory buildings of Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Norfolk. It housed both long and short term ...
on April 30, 2004, 18 years after his conviction. Accusers criticized his early release. Massachusetts Governor
Charlie Baker Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...
recommended Gerald Amirault and his sister Cheryl Amirault LeFave for pardon on November 18, 2022, subject to approval by the
Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Counc ...
. The pardon recommendation was withdrawn by Baker on December 14, 2022, as "there didn’t appear to be enough support" within the council.


References


External links

*
''Booknotes'' interview with Dorothy Rabinowitz on ''No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of Our Times'', May 4, 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amirault, Gerald 1954 births Living people Daycare workers Place of birth missing (living people) Day care sexual abuse allegations in the United States People from Malden, Massachusetts