Child Sexual Abuse Scandal in Jordan, Minnesota.

The French Revolution had something like that happen, but that consisted of the king threatening his court and killing them for being conspirators without any evidence and a rigged trial, and also the Salem Witch Trials

I see. What are your feelings towards this event?

I think the whole thing was really messed up.

How so?

Innocent people were just blatantly prosecuted without real reason.

With the Salem Witch Trials, this event, the Holocaust, the French Revolution, and many others in mind, what do you think this tells us about humans?

Human's are inherently evil I think. Everyone is looking for some fault in each other in order to avoid seeing the faults in them.

Do you believe this behavior is encoded in our DNA, or an effect of external conditions?

I think it's a combination. It's more of a mental state and your own personal beliefs I think.

Do you think religion plays a role in learned evil?

Yeah I think religion definitely has something to do with the evil in ourselves.

How so?

Well for one, even though evil is instinctual it is also a learned thing, no one would know that's its stealing if someone hadn't told them it was wrong.

What role do you think religion played in these scandals throughout history?

I think it's been a big influence. Witchcraft was a crime because religion said so, Jew's were killed because it was a wrong religion in Hitler's eyes, and people fled Europe in search of religious freedom.

Do you think these scandals could have been avoided had not religion been involved, or do you believe they would have still occurred except with a different excuse to justify their evil behavior rather than using religion?

I think different types of conflict would arise but without religion many of the greatest wars could have been avoided, the Crusades, the war in Iraq, a lot of conflict is based from religious views.

Okay that'll be all, thanks Autumn!

Sexual Child Abuse Scandal in Jordan, Minnesota.

The Scandal Explained

Interview

The Scandal Explained

This not only affected the people involved, but also the entire community. Fear swept the town of Jordan. Friendships were ruined, people stopped taking their kids to daycare or babysitters, and even some parents were afraid of showing affection to their own children fearing they’d be accused of sexual abuse.

The Scandal Explained

This verdict did not end the controversy of the alleged child abuse going on within the community, however; but the trials essentially stopped after this one. The town remained divided, but has recovered from the “nightmare” since.

Autumn are you familiar with the Jordan, Minnesota Child Abuse Scandals?

No

Okay, that’s fine, I will explain.

In Jordan, Minnesota, 1983 a neighbor had complained to the police that her neighbor had molested her daughter. During the interview the daughter named other children who had supposedly been abused also. Those children then began accusing other adults of sexual abuse and soon the madness spread. During the trials, the main prosecutor was Kathleen Morris, a woman who held grudges against the town of Jordan and the people within it. Her rulings were suspected to be biased against those she had earlier disputes with, and one case in particular it showed. The defense attorneys eventually caught on and called her a "sick person" who brain washed her witnesses and would give them rewards if they complied with the way she wanted things to go. After she had been caught, a couple that had been accused by her and their own son of sexual abuse, got off the hook and the young boy even confessed that his parents were innocent and he had lied. This was the turning point of the trials, and although you would think this would have ended the conspiracy, it didn't. The town remained split for a long while, but has recovered over time. Now that you know what essentially happened, can you relate this event to one that you're familiar with?

In Jordan, Minnesota, on September 26, 1983, Christine Brown, 25, complained to the Jordan police that a neighbor had molested her teenage daughter. During questioning by an officer, the daughter named other children who had supposedly been abused. Those children then accused various adults of abusing them. As the madness spread, twenty-four adults and one juvenile had been charged with sexually abusing over thirty children.

citations

• Carlson, Peter. n.d. n. page. <http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20088952,00.html>.
• <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan,_Minnesota>.
• N.p., n. d. Web. 18 Oct. 2013. <http://unknownmisandry.blogspot.com/2011/04/jordan-middle-american-nightmare.html>.
• Humphrey, Hubert H.. N.p.. Web. 18 Oct 2013. <http://www.a-team.org/scott_county.html>.

As the trials began, the main prosecutor was Kathleen Morris, a woman who held grudges against the town of Jordan and also the residents within it. One case in particular, she was accused of vindictively accusing two parents, the Bentzes, of abuse. The defense attorneys called her a “sick person” that brainwashed the young witnesses in order to convict the Bentzes and gave the children rewards when they obliged to her schemes. Later their son, who had accused his parents of molestation initially, confessed that they had not done so. The court eventually came to a conclusion on the verdict; both Bentzes were not guilty on all accounts.

Interview