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Show Lehi investigation ending is unsatisfactory TheUtah Attorney General's conclusion to its investigation of alleged child abuse in Lehi is an unsatisfactory ending to a confusing episode in the history of one Utah community. In a strongly worded press release issued last Thursday, attorneys from the Attorney General's office said they were closing the case, not because they don't think anyone's guilty, but because they don't think they can prove it in court. This approach leaves an impression of guilt, rather than innocence, that unjustly stains an entire Lehi neighborhood. Lehi isn't the first community to face this particular trial. The nation is dotted with towns where bizarre accusations of child sex abuse and sex abuse rings have arisen. Like Lehi, few or no criminal charges have resulted from the accusations, largely because the victims and witnesses are children, often very young children, who are so traumatized and confused by what has happened that they make poor courtroom witnesses, often recant their testimony, and often tell stories of abuse that are hard for adults to believe. Investigators end up in the same situation described by Robert Parrish, Assistant Attorney General: "The troubling issue for the Attorney General's Office was not in determining that sexual abuse of some children had occurred, but rather in proving beyond any reasonable doubt who commited the abuse." That's not only troubling for the Attorney General, but for the community of Lehi, as well, which has been tagged, unjustly, un-justly, as the child sex abuse capitol of Utah. And by abandoning the investigation as they have, the Attor ney General's office has denied Lehi any opportunity f that claim. y t0 ref"te In other words, no one wins. Mr. Wilkinson will leave office next week with the Leh' V ; sex abuse case as one of his biggest failures - even T ? investigation resulted in one conviction. 1 e .' Lehi is left with a tarnished reputation, and no means t ' the damage. "stoundo But the biggest losers are the children, who have found th many adults simply won't believe them when they say the h been hurt, and those who do believe them are often n i6 help them. n unable ta It's the worst possible ending for one of the most dam ' " situations modern society could possible face. |
