Photo by NLTAL
The term witch hunt is forever used figuratively, but the case of Fran and Dan Kellar is perhaps one of the most disturbing literal witch hunts of all of time. 21 years ago, amidst one of the darkest and most widespread eras of moral panic, the once-married couple were accused and charged with the aggravated sexual assault of a child and sentenced to 48 years in prison. They were completely innocent.
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The satanic ritual abuse (SRA) panic of the 1980s and 1990s is widely regarded as one of the darkest periods in American history. One of the truest examples of fear mongering on record, the now discredited autobiography ‘Michelle Remembers’ caused a paranoid belief that child abuse, torture and slaughter were occurring behind closed doors across the nation. The publication led to a community-fed phenomenon and the establishment of illegitimate techniques to uncover cases of SRA in children thought to be victims. Over 2000 cases were recorded in a comparatively short period of time, with ‘Michelle Remembers’ being used as a reference in more than half of all trials. Michelle Smith, the author of the book, began lecturing and spreading awareness on SRA counseling, disseminating false information to an already fearful public.
In 1983, Judy Johnson, a mother from Manhattan Beach, went to authorities claiming her child was sodomised at daycare as he’d recently experienced painful bowel movements. The smallest of instances coupled with the hysteria surrounding the SRA movement resulted in the longest and most expensive criminal trial in US history, now known as the McMartin preschool trial. During the prosecution, Johnson claimed sexual abuse occurred alongside sexual encounters with animals. She also stated that children were drilled under the arms and that members of the preschool staff were able to levitate unassisted by technology. Unsurprisingly, Johnson was eventually diagnosed with and hospitalised for acute paranoid schizophrenia, but the damage was already done.
The case set a precedent for the following decade and resulted in a multitude of unfounded allegations against anyone involved in childcare. This included Fran and Dan Keller in 1991, who were put in front of the firing squad after a child told her mother that Dan Keller had hurt her. Soon after the initial statement, the child’s therapist coaxed more information out of her and eventually accused Dan Keller of defecating on the child and sexually assaulting her with a pen. As unjustified fear took hold, two more children came forward to support the allegations against the Kellers.
During the trial, accusations of incomprehensible inhumanity were brought forth. It was alleged the couple served blood-laced Kool-Aid to the children and often lit candles before hurting them. According to reports, the Kellers also forced them to have videotaped sex with other children and adults, made them dismember cats and crying babies and dig graves to bury freshly killed victims. Perhaps the most bizarre were the claims that the children were forced to fly to Mexico where they were sexually abused by soldiers before being flown home in time to meet their guardians at the end of the day. Unfathomable in retrospect, the claims were not dismissed by authorities and the matter resulted in a grueling six-day trial.
During the trial, the original child retracted her statement of sexual abuse, claiming she was told to falsify information. Shockingly, this didn’t sway the Texas jury, who found the couple guilty and sentenced them to 48 years. It wasn’t until mid 2013 that the only medical assessment of the case was also retracted, with an affidavit filed stating the medical examiner wasn’t able to properly assess the victim at the time of the crime. This left absolutely no proof that the Kellers were involved in any wrong doing. Unfortunately, the innocent couple had already spent 21-years behind bars for crimes they not only didn’t commit, but crimes that didn’t exist. The two walked out of jail in November and December of 2013 and put normal clothes on in the first time in over two decades.
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Written by Sammy Attwood, the co-founder of Your Friend’s House. He can’t use Twitter, enjoys brunch and occasionally posts things on his Instagram account. You can read his previous article here.
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