What's really relevant in the Dylan Farrow molestation case

[Nine]

16. No it doesn't.

The article (as well as every other news article) makes it crystal clear that the prosecutor (Maco) is the one who chose the experts: "Maco had commissioned the Yale study..." On what planet would he choose a team of experts on Woody Allen's payroll?

Later the article says this: "An examination of the Yale report and court documents shows (that) the Yale team used psychologists on Allen's payroll to make mental health conclusions."

What does this statement really mean? Here's a description of how the Yale team (more accurately the Child Abuse Program at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital) operates:

http://people.yale.edu/about/article.aspx?id=2502

When a child arrives at the hospital with a burn, a broken bone or other injury, how can you tell if it's an accident or child abuse?
If a physician is concerned about suspected physical abuse or neglect, they are obligated to report the case to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). We meet with the family, examine the child, and review medical records, and meet with DCF and the police if they're involved. We try to sort out whether this is an accident, birth injury or medical problem. We try to balance all these issues to figure out what happened to the child so we can ensure the child's safety.

Kids who are over age 4 or 5 can provide reasonable histories. We will interview those children, but sometimes they are reluctant to talk about the injury that brought them to the hospital, especially if it is a family member who has hurt them. We have a weekly child abuse meeting that includes social workers, nurses, emergency doctors and DCF colleagues to discuss these cases to ensure that our decisions are the right ones.

What clinical services do you provide when child sexual abuse is suspected?
We provide forensic interviews of the children, which are observed by the police and child protective services; forensic medical exams are used to look for signs of sexual abuse. A child life specialist helps the child through the interview and accompanies him or her through the medical exam. It is important for children and families to be linked with services in the community, so our family advocate helps families connect with therapy. Also, many families will have immediate access to the treatment provided through the Bridging Program, a short-term trauma-focused treatment provided in collaboration with the Child Study Center.

If the statement is true at all (which I don't know that it is despite it's being cited endlessly around here) it could mean nothing more than that they got some medical records from the family therapist, who of course would have been paid by Allen for past services. If they hadn't done that, you would probably be complaining that they didn't even consult the family therapist and you would see that as a reason they're conclusions aren't credible. Face it, you started with the presumption of guilt and you're looking for anything to support that.

At what point do you stop twisting yourself in knots to arrive at the conclusion you want? This was a highly-respected team of experts chosen by the prosecution. They did a six-month investigation and concluded that the abuse did not occur. Could they have made a mistake? Certainly, as all experts can sometimes err. But to create some conspiracy theory where these top-tier medical professionals, who have dedicated their lives to fighting child abuse (and who probably already draw high salaries themselves), are going to throw away everything they stand for and enable a child molester because somehow Woody Allen must have paid them off... doesn't that start to sound a little bit preposterous to you?