Posted in Related Deaths2-27-1998 Washington:
Portion of article concerning "Kaare and Judy Sortland:"
Tacoma, 1989 -- Kaare and Judy Sortland were arrested on charges of molesting 14 children at their Hugs & Kisses Day Care Center. In May 1990, they were prosecuted on charges against one child. A jury found them innocent. In November 1990, after a second trial that lasted eight weeks, charges against the couple for sexually assaulting two 5-year-old boys were dismissed.
Superior Court Judge Albert Morrison said two psychologists had inappropriately enhanced the two boys' memories. The judge said the psychologists who elicited accusations were biased by the $28,500 each would receive from the state for treating the children.
In a tragic postscript, on Halloween night two years later, Kaare Sortland was shot six times and killed on the front lawn of his house. Just before the shooting, Judy Sortland heard her husband of 30 years yell, "I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"
As in Wenatchee, the main evidence in these cases was accusations made by the children. And for a while, convictions seemed almost automatic. ..more.. by ANDREW SCHNEIDER and MIKE BARBER, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTERS
Another article concerning "Kaare and Judy Sortland:"
One man likely paid for false allegations with his life, as author Lawrence Wright reveals: "Kaare and Judy Sortland were accused in 1989 of abusing three young boys in the day-care center they operated in their home. The childen initially denied that any abuse had taken place, but parents and therapists relentlessly questioned them.
"We'll talk to those kids until they're twenty years old, if necessary, to get a believable story to the jury," one parent vowed. When a jury did, in fact, rule the Sortland's not guilty, the couple were repeatedly threatened and hounded by vandals. On Halloween night in 1992, Kaare Sortland was shot to death in his front yard. His wife heard him cry "I didn't do it" just before six shots were fired." ..more..
Yet another article concerning "Kaare and Judy Sortland:"
HALLOWEEN A GRIM REMINDER OF MURDER
TACOMA (AP) — The Halloween slaying of Kaare Sortland is still unsolved after five years. On the night of Oct. 31, 1992, Sortland went into the back yard of his West Tacoma home. Someone with a gun was waiting for him.
“I didn’t do it!” Sortland cried an instant before he was shot repeatedly. Tacoma police believe Sortland, 49, was killed by someone outraged over his acquittal on child molestation charges brought by the parents of children who attended a day-care center run by he and his wife, Judy. Detective Larry Ihlen, on the ... ..more..
Finally, concerning "Kaare and Judy Sortland:"
There are many such cases where adults - in the form of parents, therapists, and officials of the justice system - simply refuse to believe children when they deny the allegations of abuse. A tragic case is the one in Tacoma, Washington, where Kaare and Judy Sortland were accused in 1989 of abusing three young boys in the day-care center they operated in their home. The childen initially denied that any abuse had taken place, but parents and therapists relentlessly questioned them.
"We'll talk to those kids until they're twenty years old, if necessary, to get a believable story to the jury," one parent vowed. When a jury did, in fact, rule the Sortland's not guilty, the couple were repeatedly threatened and hounded by vandals. On Halloween night in 1992, Kaare Sortland was shot to death in his front yard. His wife heard him cry "I didn't do it" just before six shots were fired. ..more..
No comments:
Post a Comment