Allan Barkman, Niles, Michigan, was convicted in 1985-APR of 1
count of child abuse. Many children disclosed that they were taken to barns,
a church and tunnels where Barkman took pornographic pictures of them,
sexually abused, tore the head off a chicken, gave them drug injections,
raped them with objects, etc. They also mentioned that Barkman's wife once
dressed up as a Witch. He was given a 75 year jail sentence.
Mrs. Barkman operated a preschool at Niles. After she reported the mother of
one of her pupils for neglect, that mother in turn accused Mr. Barkman
of sexually abusing her child. There was no physical evidence on any of the
children which would confirm the abuse, even though it would have been
present if the abuse had actually occurred. Children's disclosures occurred
after the usual intensive and leading questioning. In 1990, his conviction
was overturned. Rather than face a new trial at which he might be found
guilty again, he accepted an offer to plead guilty to a lesser charge;
he was given 5 years probation.
A classic case of a single allegation mushrooming into hundreds of
disclosures of events that never happened. We believe that no sexual or
ritual abuse occurred at the Niles preschool.
Reference
Debbie Nathan & Michael Snendeker, "Satan's Silence",
BasicBooks,
New York NY (1995), P. 127
Web
ReligiousTolerance.org
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