26 International Journal of Cultic Studies ■ Vol. 8, 2017
convinced that horrific things had happened to
the children.
Not everyone shared Marron’s conclusion that
the children had been through horrific abuses.
Author Martyn Kendrick examined the same
evidence as did Marron, but took seriously the
possibility that adults, through questions, had led
the children in their answers, and that little if
any evidence supported the children’s claims:
The officials of the Hamilton-Wentworth
Children’s Aid Society had taken only two
interviews to reach their decision. At the
conclusion of the trial, despite the mother’s
tragic history and the law enforcement agencies’
reluctance to attempt prosecution, [Children’s
Aid Society] tried to revive the matter within the
criminal justice system. Because of lack of
evidence, the police concluded that they did not
have a case.
64F
65
Kendrick’s clear implication was that the
Children’s Aid Society also did not have a case,
since the Society built it entirely upon
uncollaborated children’s evidence, possibly
created by adults getting them to say what
investigators wanted to hear.
Adults’ influence of children’s accounts is only
one of many factors that may impact the
reliability of children’s reports of abuse.
Psychologist, legal consultant, and expert
witness Daniel Reisberg developed a helpful
“pragmatic guide for the justice system” that
included a review of research on childhood
memory and appropriate forensic techniques for
obtaining them for courts.
65F
66 That guide spoke
favorably about the utility of children’s
memories, but did so in the context of
identifying numerous factors that can
compromise their accuracy:
Let’s emphasize that memory reports from even
very young children can be accurate and
65 Martyn Kendrick, 1988, Anatomy of a Nightmare: The Failure
of Society in Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse, p. 182 (Toronto,
Canada: Macmillan of Canada).
66 Daniel Reisberg, 2004, The Science of Perception and Memory:
A Pragmatic Guide for the Justice System. Oxford Scholarship
Online. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199826964.001.0001
complete provided that the children are
questioned properly from the start. Children can
(if properly questioned) show impressively
detailed memory for day-to-day events and even
better memory for distinctive emotional
events—presumably the sort of events that
might be relevant to a criminal case.
66F
67
Later he added,
The data are telling us that children can
remember the past accurately, completely, and
for a long time. Moreover, the types of events
relevant to the justice system tend to be
especially memorable for children because the
events are distinctive, often stressful, and
sometimes repeated.
67F
68
Reisberg offered these conclusions, however,
amidst a detailed presentation of factors that
influence children’s ability to form memories
(such as age, language competence, and
personality variables),
68F
69 in addition to a dozen
factors that can adversely affect their memory
accuracy.
69F
70
So many circumstances occur when
investigators are examining cases that involve
children’s recollections that trained staff should
handle these investigations as quickly as
possible. This quick involvement is crucial
because “the early conversations with the child,
in which an allegation first emerges, are crucial.
If these early conversations shape the child’s
report or, worse, plant ideas in the child’s
memory, there may be no way to undo this
memory.”
70F
71 Professionals, therefore, who work
67 Reisberg, 2014, p. 255.
68 Reisberg, 2014, p. 257.
69 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 245–252.
70 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 260–267. These factors are using directive
questioning giving children feedback to their answers asking
repeated questions receiving information from a trusted source
saying that other people (such as mothers) have already told
investigators receiving information from peers receiving a
plausible suggestion inducing a false memory by stereotyping
receiving a suggestion that has a basis in truth using delayed
reporting and questioning building upon an initial lie and
confusing imagination or dreams with reality. See also Jon’a F.
Meyer, 1997, Inaccuracies in Children’s Testimony (London, UK:
The Haworth Press).
71 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 271–272.
convinced that horrific things had happened to
the children.
Not everyone shared Marron’s conclusion that
the children had been through horrific abuses.
Author Martyn Kendrick examined the same
evidence as did Marron, but took seriously the
possibility that adults, through questions, had led
the children in their answers, and that little if
any evidence supported the children’s claims:
The officials of the Hamilton-Wentworth
Children’s Aid Society had taken only two
interviews to reach their decision. At the
conclusion of the trial, despite the mother’s
tragic history and the law enforcement agencies’
reluctance to attempt prosecution, [Children’s
Aid Society] tried to revive the matter within the
criminal justice system. Because of lack of
evidence, the police concluded that they did not
have a case.
64F
65
Kendrick’s clear implication was that the
Children’s Aid Society also did not have a case,
since the Society built it entirely upon
uncollaborated children’s evidence, possibly
created by adults getting them to say what
investigators wanted to hear.
Adults’ influence of children’s accounts is only
one of many factors that may impact the
reliability of children’s reports of abuse.
Psychologist, legal consultant, and expert
witness Daniel Reisberg developed a helpful
“pragmatic guide for the justice system” that
included a review of research on childhood
memory and appropriate forensic techniques for
obtaining them for courts.
65F
66 That guide spoke
favorably about the utility of children’s
memories, but did so in the context of
identifying numerous factors that can
compromise their accuracy:
Let’s emphasize that memory reports from even
very young children can be accurate and
65 Martyn Kendrick, 1988, Anatomy of a Nightmare: The Failure
of Society in Dealing with Child Sexual Abuse, p. 182 (Toronto,
Canada: Macmillan of Canada).
66 Daniel Reisberg, 2004, The Science of Perception and Memory:
A Pragmatic Guide for the Justice System. Oxford Scholarship
Online. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199826964.001.0001
complete provided that the children are
questioned properly from the start. Children can
(if properly questioned) show impressively
detailed memory for day-to-day events and even
better memory for distinctive emotional
events—presumably the sort of events that
might be relevant to a criminal case.
66F
67
Later he added,
The data are telling us that children can
remember the past accurately, completely, and
for a long time. Moreover, the types of events
relevant to the justice system tend to be
especially memorable for children because the
events are distinctive, often stressful, and
sometimes repeated.
67F
68
Reisberg offered these conclusions, however,
amidst a detailed presentation of factors that
influence children’s ability to form memories
(such as age, language competence, and
personality variables),
68F
69 in addition to a dozen
factors that can adversely affect their memory
accuracy.
69F
70
So many circumstances occur when
investigators are examining cases that involve
children’s recollections that trained staff should
handle these investigations as quickly as
possible. This quick involvement is crucial
because “the early conversations with the child,
in which an allegation first emerges, are crucial.
If these early conversations shape the child’s
report or, worse, plant ideas in the child’s
memory, there may be no way to undo this
memory.”
70F
71 Professionals, therefore, who work
67 Reisberg, 2014, p. 255.
68 Reisberg, 2014, p. 257.
69 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 245–252.
70 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 260–267. These factors are using directive
questioning giving children feedback to their answers asking
repeated questions receiving information from a trusted source
saying that other people (such as mothers) have already told
investigators receiving information from peers receiving a
plausible suggestion inducing a false memory by stereotyping
receiving a suggestion that has a basis in truth using delayed
reporting and questioning building upon an initial lie and
confusing imagination or dreams with reality. See also Jon’a F.
Meyer, 1997, Inaccuracies in Children’s Testimony (London, UK:
The Haworth Press).
71 Reisberg, 2014, pp. 271–272.
