In 1692 a group of female children claimed to have been ... molested ... if you will ...

[BainsBane]

15. The 21st century and distorting history

Today:

Child Abuse in America
Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Every year more than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving more than 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations – losing on average between four and seven children every day to child abuse and neglect. 1, 2[

http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics/

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report Child Maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted (page 24).

Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, show that:

1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse;
Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident;
During a one-year period in the U.S., 16% of youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Over the course of their lifetime, 28% of U.S. youth ages 14 to 17 had been sexually victimized;
Children are most vulnerable to CSA between the ages of 7 and 13.
According to a 2003 National Institute of Justice report, 3 out of 4 adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well (page 5).

A Bureau of Justice Statistics report shows 1.6 % (sixteen out of one thousand) of children between the ages of 12-17 were victims of rape/sexual assault (page 18).

A study conducted in 1986 found that 63% of women who had suffered sexual abuse by a family member also reported a rape or attempted rape after the age of 14. Recent studies in 2000, 2002, and 2005 have all concluded similar results (page 8).

Children who had an experience of rape or attempted rape in their adolescent years were 13.7 times more likely to experience rape or attempted rape in their first year of college (page 9).

A child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults, and can become suicidal (page 1)[
http://www.victimsofcrime.org/media/reporting-on-child-sexual-abuse/child-sexual-abuse-statistics

Those facts are more relevant than your erroneous historical example of what is exceedingly rare. It is not enough that Allen will never see jail time, but now you feel compelled to insult those of us who dare to believe victims. Evidently "intelligence" means ignoring the data from the FBI that false accusations are exceedingly rare and using made-up interpretation of history to defend someone in an entirely unrelated case. Setting aside the fact you have no understanding of the Salem Witch Trials, one case of false accusation does not then serve as evidence that millions of other victims are lying or that predators don't prey on children. It has FUCK ALL to do with Dylan Farrow and Woody Allen.

All persons in the US are innocent until proven guilty in the legal system. That has ZERO bearing on discussion here. NONE. I also find it interesting how that defense is raised in every single case of rape and rarely if ever for other crimes. How about Chris Christie's innocence until proven guilty? George Bush, Dick Cheney, George Zimmerman? What about the cases of politicians being falsely accused? What is it about rapists and child abusers that gives them an elevated status above others, above others accused of crimes and far above their victims? What exactly makes a predator of girls and women so much better than an elected official or someone accused of any other crime? Why is it that when it comes to women accused of making false rape allegations, the same people suddenly show zero concern for "innocent until proven" guilty and insist she should spend the rest of her life in jail?

As for the Salem Witch Hunt, it should make some happy to learn that it was not men accused of child abuse who were the primary targets but women.

Warrants were issued for 36 more people, with examinations continuing to take place in Salem Village: Sarah Dustin (daughter of Lydia Dustin), Ann Sears, Bethiah Carter Sr. and her daughter Bethiah Carter Jr., George Jacobs, Sr. and his granddaughter Margaret Jacobs, John Willard, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Abigail Soames, George Jacobs, Jr. (son of George Jacobs, Sr. and father of Margaret Jacobs), Daniel Andrew, Rebecca Jacobs (wife of George Jacobs, Jr. and sister of Daniel Andrew), Sarah Buckley and her daughter Mary Witheridge, Elizabeth Colson, Elizabeth Hart, Thomas Farrar, Sr., Roger Toothaker, Sarah Proctor (daughter of John and Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Bassett (sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Susannah Roots, Mary DeRich (another sister-in-law of Elizabeth Proctor), Sarah Pease, Elizabeth Cary, Martha Carrier, Elizabeth Fosdick, Wilmot Redd, Sarah Rice, Elizabeth Howe, Capt. John Alden (son of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins of Plymouth Colony), William Proctor (son of John and Elizabeth Proctor), John Flood, Mary Toothaker (wife of Roger Toothaker and sister of Martha Carrier) and her daughter Margaret Toothaker, and Arthur Abbott. When the Court of Oyer and Terminer convened at the end of May, the total number of people in custody was 62.[33]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials

Child abuse was not among the charges. The term "molestation" referred to witchcraft, though women were accused of having sex with the devil. Children who manifested epileptic seizures were thought to have been cursed by witches. A child who stole linen from a cupboard was said to have had a spell cast on her. Historical interpretations center around gender and the development of capitalism, with a rift between the prosperous merchant community and the more traditional farming community. Classic works on the events include Carol Karlsen, The Devil in the Shape of a Woman; Boyer and Nissenbaum, Salem Possessed; and John Demos, Entertaining Satan.

It really pisses me off when people distort history to support their personal agendas.