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By Root 828 0

’t sure anymore. It was peculiar, that I couldn’t very well remember how Robbie used to affect me. We are told when we are growing up that Hate is a strong word, that we should save it for the despicable things in life. In quantifying my feelings for Robbie I had to strain to remember back all those months, to gauge the intensity of my anger as he came scraping along the hall. He’d stand at the door, staring me down. He always looked as if he knew full well that he had far more knowledge than was appropriate, or good for him. I used to try to keep in mind that I hated what had made him foul-mouthed and cold-hearted. But I remember the sinking feeling I had when he appeared in the doorway of my office, the feeling that there wasn’t anything beyond him in the moment to hate. Now those violent sensations were no longer with me. He had made me feel small and empty. In a way it was an immense relief, to know that a boiling rage could leave one, that emotions were temporary, that they could chase away, like rats scurrying down the gangplank, evacuating the ship.

Myra was an able and committed therapist who clearly cared about the children she treated. She was convinced from Robbie’s acute symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome, from his reporting to his mother and to herself, that he had been sexually abused by the school nurse. In the cross-examination she did not let Rafferty rattle her. She never became belligerent or wary or defensive, although the temptation must have been considerable. When Rafferty asked, “Isn’t it true that all children lie at times?” she said, “Yes, of course! Adults do too. Children, however, generally lie to get out of trouble rather than into trouble.”

“Isn’t it true that Robbie is a known liar, Miss Flint?”

“I am well aware that he has had problems at school. It is all the more important that Robbie be assessed by experienced clinicians who are trained to tease out truths from falsehoods.”

“Isn’t it possible for lies to become set in concrete as a child repeats them, so that a child believes the lie to be true?”

“Yes, indeed. For children and adults.” She went on to discuss how the clinical data in Robbie’s case included his spontaneity, his sexual knowledge, and the fact that he did not retell his stories in a rigid manner, which would have suggested rote memory.

“Would you say that young children have active fantasy lives, Miss Flint?”

“Yes, often.”

“Isn’t it possible that this accusation of sexual abuse is nothing more than wishful thinking or a fantasy based on a sexual scene from television, or parental behavior?”

“I would say, Mr. Rafferty, that that is an unlikely interpretation. Fantasies tend to be oriented toward positive experiences. Very few children or adults daydream about being assaulted. Fantasy is directed toward solving problems—not creating them, which is certainly what happens when an allegation is made.”

“What, Miss Flint, do actuarial studies prove about the frequency of sexual fantasies and abuse in young children?”

“I haven’t recently read up on actuarial studies on that subject, Mr. Rafferty. I’d be happy to go over the evaluation of Robbie specifically and tell you again what I discovered about his fantasies and how they fit with the overall clinical picture.”

She was not behaving the way Rafferty would have liked. Although she was not charming or attractive, she was never evasive or defensive. Her sensible skirt and sweater, her short easy-to-care-for hair, her sturdy frame—everything about her, except her clogs, suggested sound judgment.

He later tried to trip her up when he questioned her about anatomically detailed dolls. “Isn’t it true that many different anatomically detailed dolls are manufactured?”

“Yes, it is,” she said.

“Isn’t it also fair to say that the anatomical detail in the doll, the design and sexual nature, differs markedly from one manufacturer to another?”

“Yes.”

“Are there published and accepted standardized procedures for using anatomically detailed dolls?”

“None exist that I know of,” she answered. “And it’s just for that reason