According to Galasso, the boy told the detective he wanted him to have the poster because "'I don't want any more children to get touched.'". "She pushed me," Galasso said. Jesse Friedman, 18, surrendered to police at about 4 p.m. and was charged with 20 counts of first-degree sodomy, 11 counts of first-degree attempted sodomy, four counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of using a child in a sexual performance, police said. "Because Arnold told me. Boys were allowed to take these computer disks to their homes, where a few were found by police. On review, the court held that the Bail Reform Act allowed issuance of a detention order only for specifically enumerated crimes, or when a serious risk of flight or obstruction of justice existed. Abuse experts from around the nation requested that the Academy: Not award an Oscar to "Capturing the Friedmans". HN3 The provisions of 18 U.S.C.S. . Seeking to clear his name, a former Great Neck man filed court papers yesterday to vacate his 1988 sex abuse convictions because he claims some of the boys who said they were molested did so after they were hypnotized and others did so after they were repeatedly questioned by police. New York State Department of Correctional Services - Arnold Friedman, United States of America, Appellee, v. Arnold Friedman, Defendant-Appellant, Boys' Sex Abuse Admitted - Great Neck teen to get 6-18 years in plea bargain, A letter written by an eight-year-old boy, Dragnet Is Out For Porn Photos In Child Sex Case, Questions for Jesse Friedman - The Home Horror Movie. He has rebuilt his life, he said, adding that the "victims are entitled to closure.". The court papers laid out some of the interviewing methods that Jesse Friedman's attorney, Earl H. Nemser of Manhattan, claims were coercive. Jesse pled to 17 counts of sodomy, 4 counts of first degree sexual abuse. Upstairs they discovered McNutt's three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son locked in what Ashtabula County Sheriff 's detective Skip Eller called "the filthiest rooms I've ever seen." "Arnold Friedman started a family with the best of intentions. Life. "Nobody in my family wanted anything to do with a movie that was just going to be some tabloid sensationalism," he says. The parents reluctantly accepted the deal that sent Jesse Friedman to prison. But Panaro maintained that his client doesn't know what became of the photos and tapes, or whether they still exist. Boklan said that, based on a pre-sentencing report from the county probation department, it appeared that Jesse Friedman was indeed sexually abused and "raised an unwanted child in a home devoid of love.". "Through the Academy's mercenary response in refusing to air a thirty second public service message, victims have just been silenced once again." It has reluctantly brought them out of their silence. They often appear confused. By chance, it has opened just before Silverdocs, a five-day film festival at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre showcasing documentaries. He has taught at the University of North Texas, where he directed the NOVA Ensemble, and Western Oregon University. Despite having been jailed for a sizeable portion of his life, and despite his protests that he was an innocent railroaded by police, prosecutors, and the media, Jesse seems quite willing to refrain from anger and disdain. How will your audience ever know? "I don't think that just because there were things in his life that were private and secret and shameful, that that means that the father who I knew and the things I knew about him were in any way not real. The police came again. "Capturing the Friedmans," a documentary that premieres tomorrow at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, is a sobering re-examination of events that stunned Long Island in the 1980s, when they seemed to cast doubt on the very notions of normality, community and safety. . Arnold Friedman (1874-1946) Arnold Friedman is considered an extremely gifted and original American modern painter by scholars and art historians today. Det. That was one of the threats Arnold Friedman used to keep the children quiet about what was going on during his classes, parents and police have said. One of you is alleged to have jumped up and down screaming that Friedman had done nothing to you before police, on a subsequent visit, obtained your statement that something had happened. The room - crammed with schoolwork, electronic equipment, personal computers and two dogs - bespoke comfort and security. We have also asked that the proceedings be moved to another county because we fear Mr. Friedman cannot get a fair hearing there given the unfortunate history of this case and how the police, prosecutors, and original trial judge handled it improperly.". "Jesse says he's never seen a picture ever," Panaro said. "I think he was crying for Jesse, who might have to spend 18 years in jail, not for our kids," said one man whose son was abused. Before accepting the plea, Onorato said, he pushed Jesse Friedman for leads to the photos and tapes. annotated Bibliography on "Capturing the Friedmans". I want you to know that I believe in your innocence. One boy is deathly afraid of fire. Without your teaching, I would not have been able to boot up and execute the very word processor which I am using to write this letter. Wallene Jones, who was talking to a member of the team making the documentary in 2001, recalled that she and her partner, William Hatch, visited one student on 15 separate occasions before the child finally said he was sexually abused, according to the motion papers. I'll plead guilty, but leave him out of it.' They promised to return, again and again and again, for as long as it takes to resolve the case against Ross ________, the other defendant charged in the case. Friedman documentary - Minimalist approach. Friedman did not respond to repeated requests for an interview for this story. He pointed out that the film's longest interview is with someone who has recollections of being abused. Crucial details? ", Added Smerling, who lives in Irvington, "I think we both agree that we never found anything in our research that made us think that Jesse was guilty. Every closeted emotion borne by members of the Friedman family, as filmmaker Andrew Jarecki documents the disintegration of their fragile nuclear unit, pulses with fear about the power of you to destroy Arnold and his son in court. In a speech to the group, Lester Speiser, principal of the school during most of Friedman's tenure, talked about the joy that Friedman got from "communicating and teaching and seeing his students succeed.". He said Arnold fondled and later sodomized him. If it is deemed to be so-called Brady material -- and wasn't turned over -- the conviction could be reversed, according to state and federal law. Jarecki said David Friedman hinted at his family's problems just enough to trigger his curiosity. And exonerating a man is not a bad one, if your man is innocent. He hoped the movie would "set up an environment where people in the computer class would come forward and say, `I know I said certain things to the grand jury, but those things weren't true.' Not the obvious, psychological bent, the clinical thing: his lust for young boys. Some of you may be successfully launched in the world. Two Borderline suspects killed themselves last year: a 25-year-old Ohio student shot himself after he was indicted, and a Wisconsin lawyer left a note saying he had been "cursed with a demon for a sexual preference. A copy of the letter was provided to The Associated Press by Joyanna Silberg, a child psychologist and member of the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, which is conducting a campaign against the movie. Friedman was 19 when he pleaded guilty to child sex abuse in 1988 after being charged with hundreds of counts alleging he and his father, Arnold, molested children during computer classes in their suburban home. These events are recalled in "Capturing the Friedmans." It was almost two years after his last computer class but the strain of remembering soon showed. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1976. They married in 1955, and eventually moved to Flushing, where they bought their first house. Arnold Friedman, who pleaded guilty March 25 to 42 sex-related charges involving the 13 boys, stood meekly with his hands cuffed behind his back as Nassau County Judge Abbey Boklan sentenced him to the 10to 30-year jail term to which Friedman had agreed when he entered his plea. A lost calculator, a misplaced page of algebra problems and a screaming bout with a younger brother left the boy on the verge of tears. In 1987, investigators searched his home in Great Neck, New York, and found a collection of child pornography. -Affidavit of Judd Maltin, 440 motion, January 8, 2004, In addition, a former computer student states in his affidavit that he never used pornographic computer games in the Friedman home.]. As stated by the prosecutors and police in the film (Assistant D.A. A sign on the wall called his domain "Paradise 7.". GARDEN CITY, N.Y. Jesse Friedman, whose imprisonment for child molestation was captured in the award-winning documentary "Capturing the Friedmans," wants a new trial based on information revealed in the film. If they have been threatened with harm - as the police say you were by the Friedmans - kids are terrified that something horrible will befall them and their families if they tell. The prosecutor in the film actually states "There was a dearth of physical evidence" and "We didn't find any of that." After sitting through countless, gut-wrenching proceedings in the past year in the Mineola court room of Nassau County Court Judge Abbey Boklan, they were glad to see Friedman finally on his way to prison, two parents said after discussing the matter with the others. But only one of the twelve victims who have been cooperating with the investigation made a positive identification. In 1987, Gregory was one of the 17 boys who told Nassau law enforcement officials that they had been abused at the Friedmans' home on Piccadilly Road. It also claimed new evidence of Jesse's guilt: "The Review Team discovered signed and sworn statements from three additional boys, who gave detailed accounts of sodomy and sexual abuse committed against them by Jesse Friedman. We did not exaggerate. Arnold's brother and David hit their heads, saying maybe someday they'll remember something, but they don't, now. Your father died in prison. He said no. His father, an admitted pedophile who was also convicted of sending child pornography through the mail, died in prison in 1995. Younger sister to Arnold Friedman, this little dancer died of blood poisoning at the tender age of 5, a death blow to her parent's marriage, who separated soon after. "We don't want to put these children on the stand if we can avoid it," said Andrew Maloney, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Strip Tease Facts more mysterious than fiction. Then, one day, he asked David what inspired him to become a clown. ", The fact that there had been no trial for either Arnold or Jesse also intrigued Jarecki: "When there's no trial, you often have a very intense series of negotiations and stress, and perhaps that was why the clown was so angry." Mrs. Friedman taught school. Arresting Images - Documentary Asks: Hysteria or Truth? He refused to accept later calls from home, and for the next few weeks tried to forget developments in Great Neck. Mon - Sun: 11: 30 am . The other man immediately became uncomfortable, and after mentioning that his childhood was difficult, suggested Jarecki speak to his mother Elaine. What Arnold and Jesse admitted under oath: The film shows--but minimizes the fact- - that Arnold and Jesse admitted to molesting 13 boys, ages 7-11. Capturing the Friedmans screens from March 25. A jury acquitted him. What is perhaps most interesting about the film is how it has consistently provoked such strong reactions. As he ventured into the cross-currents of "Capturing the Friedmans," he was able, over time, to conduct multiple interviews, nearly two dozen of which appear in the film. Have you figured it out? The court took a decisive view. We also reject the government's claim that this case involved a serious risk that Friedman would obstruct justice as the district court has made no finding whatsoever on this issue. The judge who dealt with their case, Abbey Boklan, who is now retired from her Nassau County court, confirmed that the two men had been among the 13 children Jesse Friedman pleaded guilty to abusing. And, although the film did not deny Arnold Friedman's pedophilia, Judge Abbey Boklan, who presided over the case, was alarmed at the film's and the public's second-guessing of the criminal prosecution. Some child-abuse experts say the film hurts children by misleading the public about crimes against children and helping "create an environment that keeps victims silent.". [9] On Metacritic, it has a score of 90 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". At the trial, defense lawyer Allen Brown maintained that Herbort thought he was making a legal purchase. "He touched me, you know, the wrong way " said Gregory, omitting some of the more embarrassing details of a story he told long ago to Nassau County law enforcement and now finds himself compelled to tell all over again. The investigation would leave the lives of the children and their families in shambles, and underline the difficulty of gathering evidence in cases involving pedophiles - adults who are sexually attracted to children. San Antonio Express-News - Feburary 23, 2004. Discrimination is the essence of art, but there are moments in this fine film where a reporter can't help but feel that the artist is playing a little too loose with the facts. Now 34, and after serving 13 years in prison, he has gone back to Nassau County Court asking that his conviction be overturned. "We felt that people were seeing the film and they were kind of getting like this," said Smerling, balling his fists and pulling his arms close to his body. Based on that, it's hard to imagine how an 18-year-old kid went to jail for almost as long as he'd been alive (13 years) on that kind of evidence. Two former victims, including the son of the woman who spoke to The Times, wrote an open but anonymous letter last week to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which will give out the Oscars on Sunday. Arnold Friedman Pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 to 30 years. (In the DVD's commentary track, Jarecki tells us that he had scheduled an interview with the hypnotists who "recovered" victim memories in the Friedman case, but the therapists canceled at the last minute.). At the time, Arnold Friedman was a well-respected teacher and his computer classes were popular. Andrew Jarecki, whose film about the pair has been mentioned as a possible Oscar nominee, said he supported Mr Friedman in his efforts to prove his innocence. Memories aside, the physical scar will never let him forget. His approach and feelings are more balanced than perhaps any of us could be under similar circumstances. Arnold died in prison in 1995. That was so self-indulgent of him. Actors and directors had a chance to sound off among their peers and journalists at the ceremony, one of several notable precursors to the Academy Awards. A convicted child molester went to jail and his story to the silver screen. Voting for the Oscars closes on Tuesday. Jesse was sentenced to six to 18 years in prison and is now on parole after serving 13. "I was very much in love with Arnold's music," said Mrs. Friedman. It's not going to give me back my life. The games that were discovered by the police were in common circulation among the community of Great Neck youth who used personal computers and with whom I had traded software. The detectives - a man and woman team - said child pornography had been found in Arnold Friedman's house. As it stands I have no [legal] avenues for appeal. Galasso denied hypnosis was used and said detectives did not coerce statements from the victims. "I am personally offended by these accusations," Galasso said. They'll get no help from me. Each count carries a maximum of ten years in prison. In the film, one of the detectives on the case, Lloyd Doppman, warns that it's dangerous to ask leading questions when dealing with suggestible children. But Jarecki already had the home videotapes in his possession. Although his planned six-month clown project would stretch to three years, Jarecki had the financial and artistic resources to proceed. Once, when she asked her son what he was learning in the class, he and a classmate looked at each other with "sheepish grins on their faces" and giggled. Maximum Expiration Date for Parole Supervision: 837 F.2d 48, *; 1988 U.S. App. It is unclear whether Friedman's motion to overturn will come to that. Mr. Jarecki, the director, "ignored and hid evidence that Jesse was guilty and didn't reach out to actual victims, because I never heard from him," said the mother of one of 13 victims. Friedman's attorney, Earl Nemser of Manhattan, said yesterday witnesses interviewed in the film indicated that "coercion and suggestive tactics," such as hypnotism, were used to question the alleged abuse victims. The Academy has a powerful platform which they could have used to benefit society and the many victims of this crime.". In the end, nobody really knows if Jesse Friedman is guilty other than Jesse Friedman. Friedman was optimistic. He was . We're not the Osbournes. "[The victims] were children at the time, they are young adults now and I can't bear to see them victimized once again." That's one debate Oscar doesn't seem likely to settle. Before it was over, the probe would uncover the largest child sex-abuse case ever on Long Island and one of the largest in New York State - both in the number of victims and the number of charges. 7. Many assume that child sexual abuse must leave gaping tears and telltale scars, but due to the nature of children's bodies, even when there are physical signs, most disappear in a few days. "I don't long to be free," Jesse said in a 1989 prison interview with Newsday reporter Alvin Bessent. "If you keep looking at any group of people, you could find something haunting," he says. Because of this objectivity, viewers are permitted to draw their own conclusions from information gleaned during the filmmakers' three-year investigation of the case, just as a jury would have, if there had been a trial. "Capturing the Friedmans" took the Sundance Film Festival's grand jury prize in January 2003. "I keep asking myself, is this the man I knew?". "It helps them a great deal," Kaplan said, referring generally to victims of child abuse. Finally, bail has been set for Friedman on the state charges, which are far more serious than those charged in this case. About two dozen families flatly refused to allow officers to talk to their children. The way her son described it at the time was that "they did things to him that made him feel like he was going to go to the bathroom," his mother said. (If you're not familiar with the film, read David Edelstein's Slate review.) "And, though you can't reduce individuals to a single adjective, law enforcement would say that showing them as human beings is unfair. "In my whole career I don't remember students ever throwing a party like this for someone," Speiser says. Possible Telltale Signs EXPERTS say that it is difficult but not impossible for parents to protect children from pedophiles, who often hide behind a cloak of respectability while their victims rarely talk about being attacked and sometimes exhibit no symptoms. Arnold Friedman ultimately died while serving his prison sentence. Eventually, he told detectives and his parents that he was photographed urinating and was subjected to sexual abuse. A spokesman for Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon declined to comment, saying prosecutors had not yet seen the court papers. Whatever. Once inside, the officials would look for other samples of child pornography or evidence of molesting. Many viewers leave the theatre believing that they have seen an objective documentary presented by a director who entrusted audiences to draw their own conclusions on Arnold Friedman's and Jesse Friedman's guilt. Arnold Friedman committed suicide in prison. But instead of the exoneration Jesse Friedman had been hoping for, the 155-page report was a scathing endorsement of his conviction, rejecting as "overstated, not reliable or unable to be substantiated" the new material film director Jarecki had sent to the investigators. "I guess it mostly started with my father trying to love me," Jesse said back then. Police officers canceled vacations and switched to night shifts. Jarecki himself gave them and other sources anonymity in his film and in the outtakes included in the DVD. The hearing has been assigned to a Nassau County judge but not scheduled. He went to therapy out of fear that he would molest his own children. But they too were triggered by stress. Mr. Jarecki had been keen on magic in his youth but thought it curious that there were grownups who made a living as birthday party clowns. Judge Costantino's order contains only implicit findings relating to risk of flight but concludes that "no release conditions will reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community if defendant is not detained.". "Andrew was able to uncover a tremendous amount of information to prove what I always suspected was the case. Richard Barbuto, president of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said various court cases have established that the defense is entitled to "inconsistent statements" made by witnesses during the discovery phase, in which prosecutors turn over evidence to the defense. Jarecki said he's considering the release of a 51/2-hour, extended version, possibly on DVD release. They named "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" as the best film of 2003. But he "is similarly unsuitable based on his having presided over a strikingly similar child sexual abuse case involving some of the same detectives," Gimpel contends. That conclusion is no accident. The book was supposed to be closed on The People v. Arnold Friedman and Jesse Friedman, two sexual-molestation cases in the late 1980s that destroyed a family and devastated a community. 1 children's entertainer in New York.". When he initially refused to cooperate in interrogations, the police arrested him and charged him with being Jesse's accomplice. It must first determine by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant either has been charged with one of the crimes enumerated in 18 U.S.C.S. He pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced to 10 to 30 years in prison. "It's a shame with all this public attention on child abuse the system does not adequately punish it. Victims recounted being held down by one attacker and raped by another. "Let's go with the supposition that Jesse was innocent of the charges against him," the filmmaker says. I screamed `Dad!' Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Liv Tyler accepted the Best Picture Award for "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the final installment in the trilogy. The film leaves the viewer with the feeling that Arnold Friedman, a confessed pedophile, was probably guilty of at least some form of molestation. So I'm really confused.". Thirteen of the victims came forward to accuse the perpetrators, who confessed and were convicted. Jesse is the most perplexing of the bunch. Oscar-nominated documentaries usually don't grab much attention amid all the megastar, big-budget films up for awards. The investigation into the Friedmans' activities intensified in March after Arnold Friedman pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 13 boys, Onorato said. Irene Weiser, founder of New York City-based StopFamilyViolence.org, came across an Associated Press story late last week that raised questions about the movie's portrayal of the case. Arnold pled to 8 counts of sodomy, 28 counts of first-degree sexual abuse, and also admitted to ramming a child's head into a wall in front of other children. She cited a Geraldo Rivera show in 1989 in which Jesse -- already in prison at that point -- admitted he had abused those children. Morris admits he walked a fine ethical line in researching the story. "Some people look at it and say he's trying to beat it on a technicality. Jarecki's documentary creatively interweaves recent interviews with home movies shot by the older Friedman brother as the events were unfolding. Trying to do something about the problems in my family never seemed to get me anywhere." Could dozens of boys, age 7 to 11, suffer sodomizing episodes in front of each other without any of them ever telling their parents? The film shows her being mistreated by her sons for questioning Arnold's innocence. He said he remains plagued by a persistent physical injury that has never healed. Even as his disease progressed, his gentle nature and extraordinary intelligence remained. In a 1000-page filing, Friedman's brief argues that had this information been disclosed to him at the time, he would have had a substantially better chance of prevailing at trial, and therefore would not have pled guilty to crimes he did not commit. People who loved him will be missing him so greatly since they left a legacy of sweet memories. About how influenced the truth is by all of our own prejudices and agendas and needs on every level. He said that he never heard any rumors about Mr. Friedman until this whole thing broke loose and it was in the newspaper. But one is at the center of a controversy over the director's take on a well-publicized case of child sexual abuse. Jesse Friedman and his father, a retired schoolteacher, separately pleaded guilty in 1988 to scores of sexual abuse charges, admitting that they molested 13 boys who were students in a computer class that Arnold Friedman ran from his home on Piccadilly Road in Great Neck. (Filmmaking seems to run in the Jarecki family: Andrew's younger brother Eugene directed the favorably reviewed documentary "The Trials of Henry Kissinger."). "The film gives the impression truth is elusive and maybe the Friedmans didn't molest boys. In the movie, Panaro denies making any such suggestion. McNutt pleaded guilty to one charge of child rape; he was sentenced last month to 10 to 25 years. The film takes so many twists and turns that it constantly challenges the viewer to change their position. "You know, if there's two million people in prison," Jesse explains, "and if you say the criminal justice system is 99.9 percent efficient, there's still two million people in prison and there's no way it's 99.9 percent efficient.". Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The abuse escalated into sodomy. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. The investigation had been going on for two years. The movie, which reconciles gravely serious content with gallows humor and exploitable oddness, is playing at both the Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle 5 and Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema. The family is so fascinating in their dysfunction, so horrifying and captivating in their own personalities, any filmmaker would likely have been drawn to that aspect of the story. You could say [the children] felt as though they were entrenched by the things they had already said to their parents and the police by this time and weren't going to back off now. Because of the guilty pleas, there was never any trial. "I have known for at least seven months that there was a motion that was going to be filed, and at that time I predicted that it would be filed close to the time the video and DVD would be coming out. "It was a horror," said Mrs. Friedman, who frantically tried to stop the police searching her house. Friedman's lawyers did not meet the legal burden, she said, adding that one of the 17 judges in Nassau must surely be able to review the case fairly. (NR). Then his nose began to bleed. I was seven years old when I was in the custody of Arnold and Jesse Friedman. Jesse Friedman, a student at the State University at Purchase, is charged with multiple counts of sodomy, sexual abuse, endangering the welfare of a child and using a child in a sexual performance. Mom says that she and my Uncle Howard reconnected after many years of not speaking to each other. He never indignantly proclaimed his innocence. Along with the success of the film has come a renewed effort to throw out the conviction of Jesse Friedman. Jesse could appeal.". ", Jesse Friedman was interviewed in March in a prison visiting room. ", "I still haven't found anyone who gave credible evidence of Jesse's guilt," he said. The children reported Arnold threatened to burn down their houses, kill parents, if they told. Of the porn possession there is no doubt, and in the film Arnold admits to having molested the son of a family friend. You were thrust into the spotlight recently when ''Capturing the Friedmans,'' the documentary movie about your family and the conviction of you and your father on charges of sexually abusing students who came to your house, had its premiere in New York. Postal Service over the past few years, federal agents have become major traffickers in kiddie porn, posing as sleaze merchants in order to break up a vile underground business.