On August 12, 1983, Judy Johnson called the police and told them her two-year-old son had been sexually abused at Virginia McMartin''s Preschool in Manhattan Beach, California. Mrs. Johnson accused a teacher, Raymond Buckey. After searching the school and the homes of the owners and teachers, police distributed a letter to parents of children attending the McMartin Preschool urging them to ask their children if they had witnessed any acts of sexual molestation by Buckey. The result was mass hysteria.Although the children denied being molested or witnessing any molestations, the D.A.''s office began sending them to a private clinic to be interviewed by "evaluators" and examined by pediatricians. Parents were then informed that every child who had attended the McMartin Preschool had been sexually abused, which led to charges being filed against Virginia McMartin, Peggy McMartin Buckey, Raymond and Peggy Ann Buckey and three other teachers at the school. During the hearings, children described how teachers had raped them, forced them to engage in satanic rituals, and slaughtered animals before their eyes. The ensuing trial triggered a nationwide epidemic of child sexual abuse cases with allegations of infants being raped by devil worshippers and of blood sacrifices. The McMartin trial itself clogged the courts for over seven years and cost taxpayers over sixteen million dollars.None of the allegations were true. Investigative journalists Paul and Shirley Eberle witnessed the McMartin Trial and uncovered stunning amounts of prosecutorial misconduct, all revealed in this disturbing book.

Eleven-year-old Erin Merryn's life was transformed on the night she was sexually abused by her cousin, someone she loved and trusted. As the abuse continued, and as she was forced to see her abuser over and over again in social situations, she struggled with self-doubt, panic attacks, nightmares and the weight of whether or not to tell her terrible secret. It wasn't until a traumatic series of events showed her the cost of silence that she chose to speak out-in the process destroying both her family and the last of her innocence. Through her personal diary, written during the years of her abuse, Erin Merryn shares her journey through pain and confusion to inner strength and, ultimately, forgiveness. Raw, powerful and unflinchingly honest, Stolen Innocence is the inspiring story of one girl's struggle to become a woman, and a bright light on the pain and devastation of abuse. Stolen Innocence is written with conviction and clarity. [Erin Merryn] doesn't hold back, and I respect her honesty and openness...By the end of the book, I thought I was reading passages from a much older adult than a high school senior. Erin has grown into a strong, wise, intelligent, perceptive, spiritual, caring adult." —Susan Reedquist, The Children's Advocacy Center

In the summer of 1785, in the city of Venice, a wealthy 60-year-old man was arrested and accused of a scandalous offense: having sexual relations with the 8-year-old daughter of an impoverished laundress. Although the sexual abuse of children was probably not uncommon in early modern Europe, it is largely undocumented, and the concept of "child abuse" did not yet exist. The case of Paolina Lozaro and Gaetano Franceschini came before Venice's unusual blasphemy tribunal, the Bestemmia, which heard testimony from an entire neighborhood—from the parish priest to the madam of the local brothel. Paolina's Innocence considers Franceschini's conduct in the context of the libertinism of Casanova and also employs other prominent contemporaries—Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Carlo Goldoni, Lorenzo Da Ponte, Cesare Beccaria, and the Marquis de Sade—as points of reference for understanding the case and broader issues of libertinism, sexual crime, childhood, and child abuse in the 18th century.

How common is child sexual abuse? How can victims and abusers best be treated? In Innocence Destroyed, originally published in 1993, Jean Renvoize uses interviews with victims and with experienced professionals, as well as new data from Britain, North America and Australia, to give a clear picture of the problem of child sexual abuse – its extent, its effects, and the most up-to-date recommendations for treating its victims and preventing its recurrence at the time. For those new to the subject, her book provides a readable account of a complex area, and for the more experienced worker it gives as invaluable overview of the findings of other professionals in the field.

Explores the current preoccupation with child molesting and children's sexuality and the ways that this degree of fascination is itself suspect.

The Lovely Bones meets Celeste Ng for teens in this gorgeous, haunting, and tragic novel that examines the crippling--and far-reaching--effects of one person's trauma on her family, her community, and herself. For the past eight years, sixteen-year-old Emilia DeJesus has done her best to move on from the traumatic attack she suffered in the woods behind her elementary school. She's forced down the memories--the feeling of the twigs cracking beneath her, choking on her own blood, unable to scream. Most of all, she's tried to forget about Jeremy Lance, the boy responsible, the boy who caused her such pain. Emilia believes that the crows who watched over her that day, who helped her survive, are still on her side, encouraging her to live fully. And with the love and support of her mother, brother, and her caring boyfriend, Emilia is doing just that. But when a startling discovery about her attacker's identity comes to light, and the memories of that day break through the mental box in which she'd shut them away, Emilia is forced to confront her new reality and make sense of shifting truths about her past, her family, and herself. A compulsively-readable tragedy that reminds us of the fragility of human nature. Praise for The Fall of Innocence * "Sanchez deftly shows the long-lasting impact of the assault. . . . An intimate and tragic look at how traumatic incidents affect individuals, their families, and others around them." --Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW * "Sanchez writes with stunning detail, showcasing the beauty that can be found in small moments, in family interactions, in nature, and in seemingly everyday objects. . . and illustrates how a trauma like Emilia's has widespread effects." --School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW * "It is hard to imagine a more beautifully told, more moving, or more authentic story of one family’s journey through unbearable pain." --VOYA, STARRED REVIEW "Beautifully written but ineffably sad, Emilia's story is a case study of trauma and its aftermath." --BCCB "Emilia's inner world both captivates and devastates." --Publishers Weekly "Internal and contemplative, [this novel's] haunting quality lingers." --Booklist

With the rise in divorce and child custody battles, child abuse charges have become a weapon of choice, often times false, and it is these accusations that are tearing apart lives, affecting all involved. The Child Welfare system supposedly designed to help children is actually helping children to destroy their lives. This book affords those falsely accused and their defence attorneys, who often find themselves in a 3-ring circus...juvenile, family and/or criminal courts, a vehicle for countering and defeating abuse allegations. The book is a life jacket for the falsely accused parent and inexperienced attorney. Dean Tong is an internationally known forensic consultant on related child abuse, domestic violence and child custody cases.