The Houston Trial: USA v Peterson, Seward, Mueck, Keraga and Davis
On Tuesday, September 8, 1998, the first
criminal trial involving charges against therapists in
connection with "false" or "recovered" memories opened in Houston, TX. A
sixty-count indictment had been
brought against five former employees of Spring Shadows Glen Hospital. One
count was for conspiracy, the other 59 for mail fraud. Each carries a
maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Among other
things, the prosecution intended to establish that the defendants applied
techniques associated with mind control or "brainwashing" to
induce patients to believe that they had been ritually abused, sexually and
otherwise, in satanic cults. More details are available in this Press Release from the
False Memory Syndrome Foundation.
On this site, the Foundation will present background
material, expert commentary and a compendium of the latest news about the
trial. In addition, the Houston Chronicle's
Mark Smith covered this trial on an ongoing basis,
and his coverage is available (with some restrictions as
to access) on the Chronicle's web site.
Except where noted, all material on this site is copyright (C) 1998, 1999
False Memory Syndrome Foundation.