For recent developments, see the Aftermath section.
The town of Wenatchee, Wash., made world headlines in 1994 and 1995 when police and state social workers undertook what was then called the nation's most extensive child sex-abuse investigation.
By the time it was done, at least 60 adults were arrested on 29,726 charges of child-sex abuse involving 43 children. Many of the accused were poor or developmentally disabled. Many cases were settled on the strength of confessions taken down by Wenatchee police Detective Bob Perez.
In February 1998, the Post-Intelligencer published a series of articles that documented overzealous -- and even abusive -- actions by Perez and social service caseworkers, civil rights violations by judges and prosecutors as well as sloppy work by public defenders.
Since then, many of the convicted have been freed by higher courts, largely through the work of The Innocence Project, a group of volunteer lawyers.
Part One(Monday, February 23, 1998)
Children sacrificed for the case
Allegations set up a puzzle of doubtful ethics, dubious facts Full story
Detective a man who charmed, harmed
Trouble follows on and off the job Full story
Part Two(Tuesday, February 24, 1998)
Children hurt by the system
Society's protectors bent, broke and ignored rules Full story
Children shuttled to Idaho facility
Many of them admitted with vague diagnoses Full story
