October 1986-August 1988: In Ohio, Michael Ross and Carla Nelson are both accused of bizarre sexual crimes including rape; the alleged victims are Nelson’s daughters. The girls testify in March 1982 when they are 8 and 10 respectively. It is unclear from the reports I found if Ross and Nelson took the stand, but her father did – a Lutheran minister. In spite of the usual airhead so-called expert prosecution witnesses, the couple are acquitted. The jury probably wondered where was the physical evidence. The defense blamed this case on the ex-husband of Nelson, ie PARENTAL ALIENATION SYNDROME. (He just happened to be a psychiatric nurse). According to NewsBank, this article by staff writer Eric Sandstrom appeared on Page C4. Incidentally, a serial killer named Michael Ross was the last person to be executed in Connecticut.

Although it would be unfair (for me) to point the finger at Carla’s ex-husband, this case reminds me of the later case of Tonya Craft, who was falsely accused of multiple sex offences on her own account.

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