How about an earlier case were a religious sect's compound in Texas was raided on false accusations of child abuse--Waco?

Janet Reno became Attorney General under Clinton becaue of publicity surrounding the now-infamous Dade County Day Care Center case, in which she terrorized children from a day care center into making false accusations against the employees of a day care center. (The one boy later testified that he only made the accusations that Reno wanted him to make because he was scared of her.) She then edited out the parts that were obviously false--witches flying in the window, etc.--and prosecuted the day care center based on the plausible accusations. (The crazy accusations were explained away by saying that the children were traumatized, not by the interigation they recieved from Janet Reno, but by their experience at the day care center.)

Then she attacked the "Branch Davidian" compound in Waco, Texas, under what turned out to be false accusations, and killed the children to protect them.

In the case of the Texas polygamy raid, it seems to have been justified by one false accusation made by phone--from Colorado. (No verification of accusations is needed in cases like this.)

And again, I have to wonder why, if trained professionals can't tell the difference between a 27-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl (apparently they refused to believe her when she told them she was 27) why do we come down hard on 20-year-old boys who claim that they believed a 15-year-old girl, and that she lied to them about her age?

Exactly Don, The Gov't has a history of spitting on the constitution. I don't want child molesters to go free, but the gov't needs to be put in check, there are limits to its power, and it needs to accept those limits.

The point is the legal angle, not the law enforcement angle. The state is having a hard time prosecuting these cases in much the same way the Bush administration has bungled the Gitmo cases.

True Anse, but if the law enforcement had done its job properly the courts wouldn't be having a hard time with this. Well except having a custody hearing with all the children lumped together as one.

(apparently they refused to believe her when she told them she was 27)

I suspect the problem is that particular "truth" was mingled among a large group of lies. I.e. when a dozen girls who all appear to be under age all claim to be 20+, the assumption becomes that some or all of them are lying, not that they're all telling the truth.

Then she attacked the "Branch Davidian" compound in Waco, Texas, under what turned out to be false accusations, and killed the children to protect them.

So they weren't in danger of death from their insane leader? How odd, I thought their insane leader killed them all rather than lose them.

I'm no fan of Janet BTW. Did she screw up the handling of Waco? Yes. Ditto for those other cases. Does she have some responsibility for Waco? Yes again.

But David, not Janet, killed those people.

DBuss:

(apparently they refused to believe her when she told them she was 27)

I suspect the problem is that particular "truth" was mingled among a large group of lies. I.e. when a dozen girls who all appear to be under age all claim to be 20+, the assumption becomes that some or all of them are lying, not that they're all telling the truth.

--You yourself admit that it's hard for a trained professional to tell the difference between a 27-year-old and a 14-year-old--so again, why do we come down so hard on 20-year-old boys who claim that a 15-year-old girl lied to them about her age?

Then she attacked the "Branch Davidian" compound in Waco, Texas, under what turned out to be false accusations, and killed the children to protect them.

So they weren't in danger of death from their insane leader? How odd, I thought their insane leader killed them all rather than lose them.

I'm no fan of Janet BTW. Did she screw up the handling of Waco? Yes. Ditto for those other cases. Does she have some responsibility for Waco? Yes again.

But David, not Janet, killed those people.

--Are you saying that David Koresh killed those kids before Generalisima Reno's troops attacked the compound? If so, what's your proof?

If your argument is that it's Koresh's fault that Reno went crazy, I can't buy it.