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101 corroborated cases of recovered memory

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Dr. August Piper (1999)
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The Archive > 33 Other Corroborated Cases of Recovered Memory
The cases in this file don't fit comfortably into either of the other categories. Many of the cases are "legal" in the sense that they involve legal claims - but the ones in this file were not allowed to go forward, most often on ground involving the statute of limitations. This archive preserves the corroborative facts that the plaintiff tried to introduce in those cases. A few others are pending, but clearly have corroboration. Most of the remaining cases are cases reported solely in magazines or newspapers, often by journalists who spent a considerable amount of time investigating. For example, the case uncovered by Tad Shannon in the Eugene Register-Guard in 1998 is unquestionably a powerful case of recovered memory; so is the one self-reported by Jill Christman (and consciously avoided by Ofra Bikel in her PBS "documentary" on recovered memory).

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1. Jill Stimson's memories of child sexual abuse by her father. "In times of intimacy with her husband [beginning in the late 1960s], Stimson began having disturbing flashbacks" — both vague and horrifying. For years, she struggled with low self-esteem and other problems, but she never identified the source of the flashbacks. "It wasn't until 1982 that Stimson learned what happened." Her mother, moved by the knowledge that her ex-husband was occasionally babysitting Stimson's daughter, told her, in hopes of protecting the granddaughter, that "when you were a little girl your father molested you." The mother had seen physical evidence at the time, had confronted the father, and had even consulted a lawyer. Tad Shannon, "Memory and the mind: recovered memories lead Eugene woman to a painful truth," Eugene Register-Guard (July 11, 1998: A1).

2. Jill Christman's recovered memories of child sexual abuse. Ms. Christman's case is noteworthy for at least two reasons: first, she obtained verification from a childhood friend who witnessed the abuse; second, she told the entire story to Ofra Bikel of PBS, who later claimed (erroneously) that she could "could not find" any corroborated cases of recovered memory. See Christman, J. (1998) "Quieting Doubt: The gift of corroboration," Moving Forward Online, 4 (1)

3. Marilyn Van Derbur's recovered memories of child sexual abuse (revealed publicly in Denver, Colorado, May 1991). Her memories were corroborated by her sister, Gwen Mitchell, who had continuous memory of similar abuse and who long thought she "was the only one" sexually abused in the family. Fawn Germer, "Ex-Beauty Queen's Sister Acknowledges Father Molested Her, Too," Rocky Mountain News, May 11, 1991: 6.

4. Cynthia Yerrick's recovered memories (in 1991) of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse by the Rev. Robert E. Kelley (in the mid-1960s). Ms. Yerrick recovered the memories in therapy. "Asked by her therapist to draw a picture of what made her so angry, the troubled young mother of two felt a sudden rush of emotion. She sketched the Catholic Church she attended as a 4-year old in a small Massachusetts town." Jason Wolfe, "Woman Relies on Repressed Memory in Alleging Priest Abuse," Maine Sunday Telegram (October 26, 1997: 1B). Soon thereafter she began recalling horrifying memories of abuse. "With the memories bubbling to the surface, Yerick and her husband, who salvaged their marriage, decided to find out about Kelley. They leaned that three years earlier, in 1990, he had pleaded guilty to molesting a 10-year-old girl and had been sentenced to five to seven years in state prison." Id. Ms. Yerrick was awarded $527,734 by Judge Daniel Toomey in a lawsuit against Kelley. Richard Nangle & Gary Murray, "Ruling against priest," Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Ma.) (October 18, 1997: A1). In Yerrick's suit against the church, which is still pending, Judge Fremont-Smith recently found the diocese in "serious and culpable non-compliance" with the rule of civil procedure for, among other things, trying to conceal corroborating evidence. "The judge found that the diocese withheld a 1963 pastor's report on Kelley in which his pastor answered ‘yes' to the question, ‘Has he conducted himself with persons of the other sex in such a way as to cause scandal, criticism or suspicion." Dianne Williamson, "Court raps diocese's knuckles," Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Ma.) (July 21, 1998: B1).

5. Linda Lee's recollections of child sexual abuse (Florida, 1992). "Linda Lee can see flashes of her childhood. Horrendous images: a relative forcing oral sex on her when she was 3 and 4, the same man raping her when she was a teen, his big hands gripping her throat to hold her still...[Lee] says she didn't remember one single detail of a childhood filled with sexual abuse until she was an adult. Her mother finally confirmed it this year and her abuser, when confronted, didn't deny it." "In the case of Linda Lee, her mom recently admitted that she knew what was going on, but was too emotionally battered herself to protect her daughter. A childhood friend told Lee last year that she once saw Lee being attacked, but was afraid to tell." Tracie Cone, "Memories of Sex Abuse," Miami Herald, June 7, 1992: 1J.

6. The initial complaint against Norman Ackison for rape and child sexual abuse. (Separate complaints were ultimately the basis for criminal charges, but those complaints certainly corroborate the recovered memory). "A number of adults in the Shasta Drive neighborhood recalled being victimized by Ackison when they were young, Patten said. However, no charges could be brought in those cases because of the statute of limitations had expired." Ackison was eventually charged for offenses involving 'three girls between 5 and 6 [that] occurred between September 1989 and February 1991. Ackison surrendered after being featured on America's most Wanted. "The investigation was triggered when one of the victims became upset after watching an episode of In The heat of the Night featuring a child abuse case." (Jim Woods, "TV Show May Have Scared Accused Child Abuser Into Giving Up," Columbus Dispatch, April 16, 1992: 3D.)

7. John BBB Doe and John MMM Doe's recovered memories of child sexual abuse by Rev. William J. Effinger. These plaintiffs were joined in a civil suit by five others who always remembered abuse by Rev. Effinger, but who did not understand its significance until adulthood. The repressed memory claim for BBB and MMM "was included in their briefs in opposition to the motions to dismiss." Doe. V. Archdiocese of Milwaukee (1997), 211 Wis 2d. 312; 565 N.W. 2d 94; footnote 1. The Wisconsin Supreme Court prohibited all seven suits from proceeding, arguing that only the legislature can extend the statute of limitations in such cases.
The corroboration for the two men with recovered memory extends far beyond the others in this lawsuit. Seven other men and two women who were abused by Rev. Effinger in Wisconsin reached out-of-court settlements with the Archdioscese of Milwaukee. "Church Settles with 9 for Abuse by Priest," Chicago Tribune (December 1, 1993: p.3). Those claims spanned 20 years — "from the priest's first parish assignment to his last." Id. In 1993, Father Effinger entered a no-contest plea in Sheboygan County to second-degree sexual assault against a 14-year-old boy. He was sentenced to 10 years and died in prison.

8. Chris White, whose repressed memories of sexual abuse at Ryerson Public School 20 years ago, resulted in a guilty plea by Robert Warren. "Now in his mid-50s and living in British Columbia, Warren had been with the Toronto Board of Education for 23 years and had two other convictions for sexual offenses against children. One dated back to 1965 in Lindsay; the other was in British Columbia in 1988." (Judy Steed, "Abuse Victim..." The Toronto Star, May 7, 1995: A1).

9. Janet Ostrowski's memories of child sexual abuse by Rev. John Mott, pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna Roman Catholic Church in Franklin Square. Ms. Ostrowski was prohibited from pursuing the claim because of the statute of limitations, but "four more women subsequently contacted the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Center to say that they had been sexually abused by Mott when they were teenagers." Stuart Vincent, "Dismissal of Abuse Suit Appealed," Newsday (May 11, 1995: A31).

10. Angela Mitchell's flashbacks of being sexually abused 27 years earlier by Monsignor Arthur Sego at the St. Patrick Catholic School. "Mitchell repressed her memories of the incidents until April 1994, when she began helping an abused boy while working as a teacher's aide at the Kokomo YMCA." "Kokomo Woman Says Monsignor Molested Her," Gary Post-Tribune (March 5, 1995: B12). Mitchell told her older sister at the time of the abuse. Her sister told her mother, who contacted the diocese in Lafayette, "but a bishop there allegedly told her not to tell anyone, saying that church officials would handle the situation." Id. (The Monsignor was sent to the St. Joseph Mother House for two and one-half weeks to reflect on what had occurred. He also received psychiatric therapy for two and one-half months. He was then assigned to a different parish.)
The Bishop confirmed the basic facts in a 1967 letter that ended: "I would suggest that you might destroy this letter after you read it. In this way, we will protect both [A.M.] and Monsignor." A.M. v. Roman Catholic Church, 669 N.E.2d 1034 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1996). The mother "followed the Bishop's instructions and never again spoke to A.M. about the molestations. The older sister also kept the secret." Id. Remarkably, the Indiana Court of Appeals did not allow Mitchell to proceed with her highly-corroborated claim because the perpetrator was not a family member, and she did not bring the suit before turning 18--something that would have been impossible, since her first recollections were at age 34.

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Page last updated
July, 2005

Project Director
Professor Ross E. Cheit
Taubman Center for Public Policy & American Institutions
at Brown University
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Box 1977
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2201
Fax: 401-863-2452