Dale Akiki
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Dale Akiki served with his wife as volunteer baby-sitter with the Faith Chapel church in Spring Valley, California. He was mentally handicapped and suffered from Noonan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which left him with a concave chest, club feet, drooping eyelids and ears. In 1991 he was arrested and charged with 35 counts of child abuse and kidnapping, and held without bail for 30 months before trial.
The government filed its first case against Akiki on May 10, 1991, in San Diego Superior Court.[1]
It followed that up with a second case against Akiki on February 20, 1992.[2]
His trial started in Spring of 1993. The cases against him included no physical evidence, but testimony that he killed a giraffe and an elephant in front of the children, drank human blood in satanic rituals, and had abducted the children away from the church despite being unable to drive. The jury deliberated for seven hours before clearing him of all charges.[3]
His trial of 7.5 months was the longest in San Diego County history. Yet the absurdity of the case was reinforced by the jury taking only seven hours to reach its "not guilty" verdict in November 1993 [4] and the jury's complaints about the "overzealous prosecutors", "child sexual abuse syndrome", and "therapists on a witch-hunt."[5]
The San Diego County Grand Jury reviewed the Akiki cases in 1994 and concluded that "There is no justification for the further pursuit of the theory of satanic ritual molestation in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases."[6]
On August 25, 1994, he filed a suit against the County of San Diego, Faith Chapel Church, and many others which was settled for $2 million.[7]
[edit] External links
- frontline: innocence lost: Other Well-Known Cases
- New York Times: Prosecutors Rebuked in Molestation Case
- The Politics of Child Abuse in America By Lela B. Costin, David Stoesz, Howard Jacob Karger, page 15
- San Diego County Grand Jury 1993-94 Report on Dale Akiki Case
[edit] Books
- Tavris, Carol; Elliot Aronson (1997). Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Harcourt, 99. ISBN 0151010986.
- Kincaid, James R. (1998). Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting. Duke University Press, 263-264. ISBN 0822321939.
- Ceci, Stephen J. (1999). Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony. American Psychological Association, 28. ISBN 1557986320.
- Karger, Lela; Howard Jacob Karger, David Stoesz (1997). The Politics of Child Abuse in America. Oxford University Press, USA, 15, 41, 42. ISBN 0195116682.
- Pendergrast (1996). Victims of Memory. Upper Access, 371. ISBN 0942679180.
- Wexler, Richard (1995). Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse. Prometheus Books, 325, 338, 340. ISBN 0879759364.
[edit] References
- ^ SDSC Case CR122381
- ^ SDSC Case CR129395
- ^ frontline: innocence lost: Other Well-Known Cases
- ^ Los Angeles Times article on Dale Akiki case
- ^ Kincaid, James R. (1998). Erotic Innocence: The Culture of Child Molesting. Duke University Press, 263. ISBN 0822321939.
- ^ Ceci, Stephen J. (1999). Jeopardy in the Courtroom: A Scientific Analysis of Children's Testimony. American Psychological Association, 28. ISBN 1557986320.
- ^ SDSC Case 680174
