This compelling book is well written with great research with interviews and testimonies of all people involved. I do not agree with the author's view that this was a pure case of false memory and an innocent man sent to prison for 25 years.
Here's why. SPOILER ALERT.....
1.) Both Julie and Ericka came forward with claims of sexual abuse by their father Paul Ingram. When they first came forward they did not mention any form of satanic rituals.
2.) Both girls had accused other people in the past of molesting them. This is very common of children who have been molested.
3.) When paul was brought into questioning Paul did not deny the abuse at all, then said, well, uh, I may have...or this is what I would have done. This is not behavior of an innocent man. Then described in great detail of how the crime would have occurred.
4.) Paul Ingram was the deputy sheriff. He of all people knew how police investigations go.
5.) The ritual abuse was first mentioned by....wait for it....PAUL INGRAM. An innocent man would not say the devil made me do it. The girls later told of ritual abuse that they remembered by dreams and nightmares. This is common for sexually abused kids to have nightmares about demons and satanic crap tied in with their abuse.
6.) The girls were completely traumatized and were suffering as the events unfolded. If they were lying, they would have recanted.
7.) The girls report being abused by their father, Rabie and Risch.
8.) Ingram also named Rabie and Risch of being involved, except he made them out as being the instigators of abuse and Paul being controlled by them.
9.)As it turns out, Rabie during a polygraph admitted that there was a time when he was a teenager and he had molested a 4 year old girl. Rabie failed the polygraph exam
10.) When Rabie was first told he was named as a suspect he did not deny the claim and gave a reaction that looked to investigaters as an "oh no I'm caught" rather than, "OMG!! I didn't do it!"
11.) Paul's Oldest son Paul Ross, left home abruptly leaving a note saying he was leaving the country and did not want his parents to find him. Why did he not want contact with his family?? This is common for abused kids to run and hide once they were old enough. Not to mention what an angry young man he was and his intense anger toward his father.
12.) When Paul Ross was first interviewed not knowing about his sisters accusations he was asked why he thought his dad might be in jail. His reply, "For molesting my sisters." If paul Ingram were the innocent family man like many believe, paul ross would not have made that odd speculation. It would have been "Does my dad owe money?" "Did he get in a fight?"
13.) Paul Ross not knowing about the accusations of his sisters said that he recalled a time that he witnessed his mom being raped by his father and two men. Rabie and Risch. When he was shown Risch's photo he said, "Oh,the gay guy." because he saw Risch and another man masterbating each other. Do I need to say again, he did not know of the accusations his sisters made.
14.) When investigators asked Paul Ross about the possibility of him being abused he left to "collect his thoughts" for a few minutes and never returned. Vanished from his home and his job. Again, sign of abuse and not being able to face it.
15.) Ofshe, the professional who claimed that it was all a mistake based on false memory sited that when false memory occurs, the "victim" remembers the abuse but nothing of what happened before or after the abuse. This was true with the ingram girls claims of ritual abuse. However....Paul ross said that after he saw his mom being raped and his father hitting him, he went into the kitchen and drank whiskey. Then went into his room and drank some more. He was also able to desribe what he was doing prior to finding his mother being raped. If Ofshe followed his own belief, this would mean that this memory was real. Not to mention its a common reaction for a youth when faced with something like that to immediately try to find a way to self soothe. He decided to drink.
17.)When Rabie was told he was named as a suspect, he immediately followed what paul did, and said, ..uh I would have, or could have...nonsense messing with the investigators.
18.) When it started to become clear to paul that the Olympia PD was going to throw the book at him, his confessions became even more improbable and just plain impossible. Remember he is a deputy sheriff. He knew how to make his own confession and statements not reliable. Not to mention he immediately started naming the investigators as abusers. A very manipulative move by Paul. "If you guys take me down...I'll take all you with me!" Throughout this whole book, it appeared that paul was manipulating and completely messing with the police department. He would know how. He was a deputy sheriff.
19.) When it looked like Paul might get off because of all of his crazy confessions and his daughters accusations became unbelievable and they were becoming less reliable, Julie penned a letter claiming her father sent it threatening her. This is common with abused children to make desperate attempt to keep their abusers locked up where they can't hurt them. It appeared to me that she was scared, desperate.
20.) The false memories came after, by meditation and nightmares by the girls. Their father was talking about ritual abuse and confessing to these crimes the girls thought their nightmares had to have been real. I was disturbed by Ofshe calling Ericka a liar.
21.) Chad Ingram came forward in 1996 saying he had been sexually abused by paul
22.) Paul was not tried or convicted of ritual abuse. He was convicted of raping his daughters. Paul confessed to these crimes.
23.) Ofshe's irresponsible statement: If some of the accusations are false that it all must false. Um..no.How can it be all or nothing? Remember, PAUL INGRAM started the whole ritual abuse nonsense. Not Ericka And Julie.
I really feel for the entire Ingram family, and I think the author's bias at the end of this book has to be terribly hurtful to the family. Is it still worth the read?? ABSOLUTELY. Its compelling and thought provoking. Hard to put down.
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Top reviews from other countries
Beaky
Hmm - witch hunts against both supposed abusers and counsellors..
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2016