Baker Seeks Pardons For Pair In Malden 1980s Child Abuse Case

MALDEN, MA — A pair of siblings convicted in the 1980s on controversial sexual abuse charges linked to a Malden daycare may soon receive pardons following an announcement by Gov. Charlie Baker last week.

The governor on Friday announced he was seeking pardons for Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave as part of a larger batch of six pardons and one commutation in a variety of cases.

The two were prosecuted alongside their mother in the 1980s after testimony from children who described being molested at the Fells Acres daycare center in Malden, GBH reported.

Courts ultimately convicted Gerald, Cheryl and their mother Violet. Some observers quickly noted concerns, though, triggering a series of legal proceedings over the following years. A Middlesex Superior Court judge in the late 1990s eventually panned interview and interrogation tactics by “overzealous” investigators acting in a period where several major child abuse cases in the US captured attention, as documented by the National Registry of Exonerations.

The courts dismissed charges against Violet after her death in 1997. Gerald and Cheryl have since been free from incarceration, though their convictions stand pending a finalized set of pardons.

Baker last week noted his own concerns about the response to initial allegations against the Amiraults.

“The investigations and prosecutions of the Amiraults in the 1980s took place without the benefit of scientific studies that have in the intervening years led to widespread adoption of investigative protocols designed to protect objectivity and reliability in the investigation of child sex abuse cases,” Baker said in a statement.

Baker said he was left “with grave doubt” about the strength of the convictions.

Former Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said last week that he stood by “the decisions made at the time by the prosecutors, judge and jury” involved in the Amirault case.

“I believe the Governor’s decision is a fitting end to a very troubled case,” he continued, though.

Baker’s move to seek a pardon this month will now send the matter to the state Governor’s Council for review. The Governor’s Council will need to approve pardons for them to take effect.

Baker, who is winding down his tenure as governor, has issued several rounds of pardons and commutations in recent months.

Among other actions, he previously sought a pardon in October for a man now living in Georgetown who pled guilty to charges stemming from a series of bad checks written in 1979.