Brenda Kniffen

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Charge:	Child/Minor Sex Abuse (incl. molestation)
Sentence:	240 years
Years Imprisoned:	14
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1984
Year Cleared:	1996
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California
County or Region of Crime:	Kern
City of Crime:	Bakersfield
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Brenda Kniffen was codefendant of husband Scott Kniffen, and Alvin McCuan and his wife Debbie McCuan. The four were found guilty by a jury of child abuse in 1983 and given centuries long sentences. The convictions of the four defendants were reversed in August 1996 and they were released on August 12, 1996 after 14 years of imprisonment. During all those years none of the husbands and wives were allowed to have any contact with each other. There was no physical evidence that any child abuse had occurred. The children that testified against the four adults had been promised by prosecutors that if they lied they would be reunited with their parents. The children recanted after they realized the prosecutors had lied to them. The case was dramatized in a 2001 movie, "Just Ask My Children," starring Virginia Madsen and Jeffrey Nordling. Brenda and Scott Kniffen filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Kern County and settled their lawsuit for a toal of $275,000. Alvin and Debbie McCuan also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, but they weren't awarded any compensation."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjured testimony of children coerced by the prosecution with promises that if they lied they would reunited with their parents.
Innocence Proved By:	Conviction reversed on appeal. The witnesses all recanted.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$137,500 (Kern County)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	29
Age When Released:	43
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Bakersfield/Kern County, CA Ritual Abuse Cases, The McCuan and Kniffen Families"
Information Location 1:	http://law.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?once=true&site=http://www.religioustolerance.org/wenatche.htm
Information Source 2:	"Kern County settles last of molestation conviction suits, By Lois Henry (Staff writer), The Californian (Bakersfield, Calif.), March 25, 2013"
Information Location 2:	http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2013/03/26/kern-county-settles-last-of-molestation-conviction-suits.html
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Movie About Case:	"Just Ask My Children (2001), Starring Virginia Madsen, Jeffrey Nordling"
Comments About Case:

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Brenda Kniffen

Charge:

Child/Minor Sex Abuse (incl. molestation)

Sentence:

240 years

Years Imprisoned:

14

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1984

Year Cleared:

1996

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Kern

City of Crime:

Bakersfield

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjured testimony of children coerced by the prosecution with promises that if they lied they would reunited with their parents.

Innocence Proved By:

Conviction reversed on appeal. The witnesses all recanted.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$137,500 (Kern County)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

29

Age When Released:

43

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Bakersfield/Kern County, CA Ritual Abuse Cases, The McCuan and Kniffen Families"

Information Location 1:

http://law.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?once=true&site=http://www.religioustolerance.org/wenatche.htm

Information Source 2:

"Kern County settles last of molestation conviction suits, By Lois Henry (Staff writer), The Californian (Bakersfield, Calif.), March 25, 2013"

Information Location 2:

http://www.bakersfield.com/news/2013/03/26/kern-county-settles-last-of-molestation-conviction-suits.html

Information Source 3:

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

"Just Ask My Children (2001), Starring Virginia Madsen, Jeffrey Nordling"

Comments About Case: