MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - A vote is expected Wednesday on whether a brother and sister convicted of sexually abusing children at a Malden day care will be pardoned.
Gerald Amirault, his sister Cheryl Amirault LeFave, and their mother Violet Amirault, were convicted in the 1980s of abusing eight children at the Fells Acre Day Care Center.
Gov. Charlie Baker proposed the pardons in November, echoing concerns about the convictions because of the methods the prosecutors used to question the children.
At a pardon hearing Tuesday, several victims came forward with emotional testimony, pleading with the Massachusetts Governor’s Council to deny the pardon.
“He is without a doubt the person that raped and molested me,” said Jennifer Bennett, who was four years old when she was abused.
“Endless nights of crying myself to sleep, thinking of my son telling me what had happened to him with the fear that he was bad and that I would not love him anymore,” said Barbara Standke, the mother of one of the victims. “To hear the governor was considering a pardon was a cold, hard slap in the face.”
James Sultan, the lawyer who represents the Amiraults, said his clients were victims of a witchhunt hysteria and unscientific methods to question children.
“Those interviewing techniques have now been found to be grossly improper and would never be used today,” Sultan said.
Most board members expressed opposition to the governor’s recommendation, which came without a recommendation from the parole board.
Neither Amirault nor LeFave were present for the hearing.
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