Sad not to see any reviews here of this hard hitting six-part documentary about the child sex abuse scandal in a small eastern Washington community which took on a nature disturbingly similar to the Salem Witch trials. Like the notorious trials that took place in 1692-1693 in colonial Massachusetts, the initial focus of the Wenatchee abuse investigations was small but soon spread to scores of accused and took on an aura of mass hysteria. How could this be happening in our town?
It is both maddening and terrifying as one watches how a single unqualified policeman, employees of the local office of the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services and a supportive mayor accuse more and more parents, take away their children and secure convictions with prison time. It is Kafkaesque.
The filmmakers dig deep, telling the story in slow, meticulous detail, unveiling, first, a sensational story of increasingly remarkable proportions, and, then, as the great lie begins to unravel. In between, good people suspect the claims. They become vocal. They raise concerns, only to find themselves also accused of child sexual abuse.
If this were a fictional movie, it would be criticized as hysterically unrealistic and needlessly sensational. But it's not fiction, prompting the question, how could this happen in our nation?
