Gerald Amirault
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Gerald "Tooky" Amirault was convicted in 1986 of molesting and raping eight 3- and 4-year-old children at the Fells Acres day care center in Malden, Massachusetts run by his family, in one of the United States's most unusual and controversial child-molestation cases.
He was released from the Bay State Correctional Center on Friday, April 30, 2004, 18 years after his conviction. His sister and mother, Cheryl Amirault LeFave and Violet Amirault, were convicted of related charges in a separate trial, and both released from prison in 1995.
Testimony in the cases included stories of Amirault dressed as a clown and raping children with knives, and ritual slaughter of animals. It relied heavily on testimony from young children extracted through long sessions with therapists. The Amiraults insist they were victims of the day care sex abuse hysteria that swept the US in the 1980s.
Larry Hardoon, the chief prosecutor in the case, said he continues to believe Amirault committed the crimes.
External links
- Boston Herald article (http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=12609) on his release, 4/30/2004.