In other posts about Silentlambs where I defended Bill Bowen's efforts to expose child molestation, Proplog2 raised a lot of ire by challenging Bill Bowen's integrity amongst other things.
However, in Proplog2's posts he mentioned concern for the possibility of an innocent adult being falsely accused of child molestation. Naturally because his overall views were objectionable to many, the proverbial baby got thrown out with the bathwater.
In other words, many (but not all) seemed to dismiss the possibility that an adult accused of child molestation is automatically guilty as charged!
Proplog2 pointed out that further complicating matters is that anyone who does not automatically conclude the accused is guilty by virtue of the accusation by a child, is considered a closet child molester themselves. Proplog2 himself was accused by a few of supporting child molesters because his vitriolic defense of the accused (but not convicted) was highly objectionable to many (including myself, although I never considered him a supporter of child molesters).
It is sad when the majority in a civilization decide someone or group of persons is "guilty" before they are convicted, and turn against those who persist in believing it's POSSIBLE the accused is innocent.
IMO an unbalanced view of one accused of child molestation:
If a child accuses an adult of child abuse, then the adult is automatically guilty. They are even called "the accused child molester" as if they are a child molester facing the proverbial firing squad but not formally found guilty. A court hearing is simply a formality in the case of child molestation, many believe, in that we already know the accused is GUILTY AS CHARGED. Right? Not necessarily!
Although this attitude hasn't been expressed, I believe sometimes this attitude has been implied by those wanting to believe the child.
Obviously, maintaining a balanced view means to accept the possibility that the accused is innocent.
I personally believe in Bill Bowen, because I believe he is trying to champion the truth. My observation is that he does not advocate the automatic guilt of anyone by simple virtue of the fact they are accused by a child. Rather, I believe Bill Bowen is balanced and accepts the possibility that some accused molesters will be found innocent.
Contrast this to a world where we collectively agree to "sacrifice" every single adult accused of molestation to the prison system. Suppose we lived in a world where we bluntly admitted that the court trial was really a "formality" and that ALL ACCUSED ARE AUTOMATICALLY CONSIDERED GUILTY? Imagine a world where we believed it is impossible for any child to falsely accuse anyone of wrongdoing?
Thanks to those like Bill Bowen we don't live in such a world, but are moving toward a world THAT ADVOCATES JUSTICE FOR GENUINELY ABUSED CHILD VICTIMS! We are moving away from the old world where, centuries ago, the Salem Witch Trials resulted in the burning-at-the-stake of anyone -- adult or child -- accused of witchcraft. The mere accusation alone was a death sentence! An innocent verdict was IMPOSSIBLE.
Civilization back then, in essence, had collectively agreed to sacrifice all accused individuals to death, in exchange for the illusion that false accusations were impossible. Afterall, God would not allow a false accuser to triumph over his or her enemy by succeeding in an accusation that resulted in their execution? Since the reasoning went that God could not allow the innocent to be falsely accused, an accusation automatically translated to guilt of the accused person.
In our modern day, I believe we are moving away from this system of automatic guilt by virtue of a mere accusation alone.
In closing, here is one more reason to believe this, in the below news article. Obviously this article alone proves nothing, but at least shows a move toward freeing those who are falsely accused:
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
Article: http://www0.mercurycenter.com/local/center/chargespm020.htm
Posted at 2:57 p.m. PST Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002
Molest allegations against Palo Alto pre-school teacher dropped
BY JESSIE SEYFER AND KAREN DE SÁ
Mercury News
Longtime Palo Alto preschool teacher David Eric Carlson was formally cleared Tuesday of allegations that he molested a 4-year-old student last month.
A Santa Clara County judge quickly dismissed the charge, which prosecutors informally dropped last week, and Carlson emerged from the courtroom to make his first public statement since his arrest Jan. 9.
``I would like to thank the following people: My family, my friends and my attorney,'' Carlson said. ``I look forward to the birth of my first child and to getting on with my life.''
Standing in front of the county courthouse in Palo Alto with his pregnant wife, Robin, Carlson made no other statement and declined to answer any further questions.
His lawyer, Ken Robinson, said Carlson was going to take a month off to decide whether to return to work at the Barron Park 4-year-old Program, the preschool where the student claimed to have been molested.
Robinson said neither he nor Carlson felt the Palo Alto police and prosecutors had been overzealous in their investigations.
``David realizes that the system worked,'' he said.
Prosecutors decided Jan. 30 to drop the case because they had no physical evidence to support it; because no other children came forward to accuse him of additional crimes; and because he passed a polygraph test.