Dad Accused of Sex Abuse Cleared After Almost 20 Years in Prison
>> Sunday, July 12, 2009
A former police officer was convicted of molesting his two children and spent almost 20 years in prison. Prosecutors at the time withheld the medical exam reports showing no evidence of abuse.
The children's mother, who divorced the father prior to the accusations, told her children that they were blocking out the memory of the abuse by their father. As adults, they realized the abuse never happened and filed to have it reversed.
The sentence was commuted in 2004 due to questions about the validity. On Friday, the children (now adults) were able to take the stand in a hearing for their dad. Despite this, Clyde Ray Spencer is still considered a sex offender and is hoping to have the convictions overturned.
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I think parents in a divorce situation who falsely accuse the other parent of a crime should be charged with a crime themselves when it is proved false. False accusations harm so many people - the person accused, the rest of their family, and the children. When so many get away with it, it just encourages other parents to do this.
The story is here.
