DISCLAIMER

This episode discusses allegations involving children and abuse. All individuals mentioned are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. The McMartin Preschool Trial resulted in no convictions, and many of the allegations presented during the investigation were later challenged.

This episode is intended for informational and storytelling purposes only, based on publicly available records and sources. Listener discretion is advised.

Before the trial… there was a letter.

What started as one parent’s concern quickly became one of the most controversial cases in American history.

This is how it all began.

REFERENCE LIST

Beck, Richard. We Believe the Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980s. PublicAffairs, 2015.

Eberle, Paul, ...