Скачать или смотреть "Innocence Lost" Part 1: PBS Frontline Documentary on the Little Rascals Daycare Case in Edenton, NC

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THIS IS PART ONE OF THE PBS FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY, "INNOCENCE LOST."

In 1989, the Little Rascals Day Care in Edenton, North Carolina, was suddenly thrust into the national spotlight. One day, the owner's husband disciplined a boy at nap time, and soon an angry mother suggested that it was more than just a slap.

Rumors quickly morphed into charges of unimaginable crimes against dozens of little children. Panic consumed the town, as the police, therapists, and parents relentlessly pressured the children who attended the daycare to name their teachers responsible for multiple allegations of abuse.

More than 90 children at the Little Rascals Day Care Center in Edenton, North Carolina, accused a total of 20 adults with 429 instances of sexual abuse over a three-year period. Among the alleged perpetrators: the sheriff and mayor. But prosecutors would charge only Robin Byrum, Darlene Harris, Elizabeth "Betsy" Kelly, Robert "Bob" Kelly, Willard Scott Privott, Shelley Stone and Dawn Wilson – the Edenton 7.

Along with sodomy and beatings, allegations included a baby killed with a handgun, a child being hung upside down from a tree and being set on fire and countless other fantastic incidents involving spaceships, hot air balloons, pirate ships and trained sharks.

By the time prosecutors dropped the last charges in 1997, Little Rascals had become North Carolina's longest and most costly criminal trial. Prosecutors kept defendants jailed in hopes at least one would turn against their supposed co-conspirators. Remarkably, none did. Another shameful record: Five defendants had to wait longer to face their accusers in court than anyone else in North Carolina history.

Documentary director Ofra Bikel and crew followed the case for over seven years, producing three parts (Part 2 divided into two) of the film. Between 1991 and 1997, Ofra Bikel produced three extraordinary episodes on the Little Rascals case for the PBS series "Frontline." Although "Innocence Lost" did not deter prosecutors, it exposed their tactics and fostered nationwide skepticism and dismay.

With each passing year, the absurdity of the Little Rascals charges has become more obvious. But no admission of error has ever come from prosecutors, police, interviewers or parents. This site is devoted to the issues raised by this case.

Eerily reminiscent of the hysteria that gripped Salem, Massachusetts, during the witch trials of the seventeenth century, the Little Rascals case ultimately became the longest and most expensive criminal trial in North Carolina history.

This program, Part 1, examines the tangled history of the investigation and the poisoned atmosphere which consumed this small southern town and irreparably shattered lives, friendships, and reputations.