Free Bernard Baran

July 2000

In 1985, Bernard Baran, then 19, was convicted of multiple rapes of three-, four-, and five-year-old boys and girls at the Massachusetts daycare center where he worked. Sentenced to three concurrent life terms, he has been incarcerated ever since. In prison, Baran has been beaten, sexually assaulted, and suffered all the torments routinely visited on “skinners” (convicts serving time for sex offenses). He has legitimately feared for his life.

But Baran has survived. And he has steadfastly maintained that he is innocent, even though “admitting” his guilt would be his only chance for release.

Guide readers will recall how Baran’s story epitomizes the hysterical witchhunt mentality that swept the country in the mid-1980s (see “Bernie Baran’s Story,” December 1999, and “Still in Jail,” May 2000, available at www.guidemag.com). The absurd accusations he faced, the pitiful defense he received, and the courtroom travesty he endured bear all the hallmarks of a prosecution predicated on fear and hysteria, not facts:

— the children initially denied being molested and only produced “accusations” after intense parental and prosecutorial coaching; after the trial, one girl told her therapist that nothing really happened, but that her mother urged her to make the accusations so they could get “toys and money”

— ludicrous and inconsistent testimony was ignored; one girl­ after repeated prodding and cajoling by the prosecutor­ claimed Baran stabbed her with scissors and raped her in an open-doored bathroom in a crowded classroom without anyone hearing anything nor noticing anything amiss at the time; two other boys claimed that Baran raped them on a field trip that he wasn’t on

— the only physical “evidence” presented against Baran has since been scientifically discredited: one child tested positive for gonorrhea of the throat with a test that has been shown to have a high rate of false positives (Baran tested negative, in any case), and a tiny irregularity on girl’s hymen, presented at trial as a sign of “severe” sexual trauma, has been shown to be well within the normal variations seen in young girls who’ve suffered no sexual abuse

— Baran’s civil rights were grossly violated: facing possible life in prison, Baran had an inexperienced attorney being paid only $500; in court, he was not allowed to see or hear his accusers

Many who were wrongly convicted in the daycare sex and satanic abuse witchhunts of the 80s have been freed, their convictions overturned as courts reviewed their cases from a more sober perspective. But Baran remains in prison, in part because he is poor, but also because he is a man and he is gay. Journalists and civil libertarians may have been wary of defending a convicted “sexual predator” who carries such extra baggage.

But mercifully, Bernard Baran has not been forgotten. Due largely to the efforts of civil rights advocates Bob Chatelle and Jim D’Entremont, Baran’s story is being heard. Their story about Baran in last December’s Guide prompted attention in the Wall Street Journal and The Nation; now, even Baran’s hometown newspaper has set about correcting the disinformation they peddled 15 years ago.

We can help Baran win his freedom:

— read all about Baran’s case (including complete versions of the absurd testimony against him) at Chatelle’s website www.ultranet.com/~kyp/baran.html

— write Bernard Baran and let him know he isn’t forgotten: Bernard Baran, 30 Administration Road, Bridgewater, Massachusetts 02324

— and consider a contribution to: The Bernard Baran Defense Committee, c/o Swomley & Wood, 83 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02110.

Of course, Bernard Baran will never receive “justice” (what could restore to him the years he has lost?), but he may yet witness the enduring power of the truth, for it will be the truth that sets him free.

Pasted from <http://guidemag.com/magcontent/invokemagcontent.cfm?ID=B8C358DC-43BC-11D4-A7B200A0C9D84F02>