ID's What Happened at Fells Acres?: S*xual abuse cases at the Malden daycare explored

The s*xual abuse case at the Massachusetts-based daycare, Fells Acres, operated under the supervision of Violet Amirault and her two children Cheryl Amirault LeFave and Gerald Amirault.

Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of child abuse. Readers' discretion is advised.

The first s*xual abuse case took place on Labor Day in 1984 and the same came to light when a four-year-old boy revealed that Gerald Amirault "pulled down his pants" during the incident. The child described how Gerald would blindfold him and take him to a secret room to perform s*xual acts every day. Soon, police got involved and began interviewing multiple other Fells Acres children, who then narrated their stories not only to authorities, but also to their parents, therapists, social workers, and prosecutors.

Multiple children between the ages of three and six spoke of the s*xual abuse they endured and several other bizarre activities they were made to engage in while in the presence of the three Amirault family members.

ID's What Happened at Fells Acres? will revisit the vicious scandal surrounding Malden's Fells Acres daycare, one of the most high-profile s*xual abuse cases from the 80s, this Wednesday, June 7, at 11:00 pm ET.

The synopsis states:

"The town of Malden, Mass., erupts with outrage after a child attending a family-run day care makes s*xual abuse claims; as the allegations build with more and more children coming forward, people start wondering what's really happening."

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The Fells Acres daycare's Amirault family was accused of performing s*xual and other bizarre acts with children

Founded by Violet Amirault in 1966, Fells Acres daycare operated in Malden, Massachusetts until September 1984 when allegations emerged, accusing Violet and her children of s*xual abuse. Cheryl used to teach a class at the daycare while Gerald looked after the maintenance and other tasks which also included cooking.

Multiple children between the ages of three and six revealed that they were made to perform s*xual and other bizarre acts in the presence of these three individuals, as per The Washington Post. The first allegation surfaced when a four-year-old boy told his family that Gerald once took his pants off.

After learning about this, the boy's mother contacted a hotline and filed a report, accusing Gerald Amirault of s*xual abuse. Local police were soon informed about the same and they immediately arrested Gerald and shut down the daycare.

Following this, multiple other children from Fells Acres were questioned by their parents and interviewed by authorities, social workers, therapists, and prosecutors regarding similar instances and concerns. Soon, other children started narrating their stories involving s*xual acts performed by or in the presence of the Amirault family members.

Moreover, there were several other instances that involved robots, murdered and buried animals. Some children also alleged that they were made to drink their own urine and eat a frog. The allegations also claimed that children were photographed at "nude swimming parties," tied to trees naked, and often beaten by Gerald dressed as a clown.

Gerald Amirault stood trial in 1986 while Violet and Cheryl were tried the following year. All three were convicted and sentenced to prison but maintained their innocence in the case.

Violet and Cheryl were released on appeal in 1995. The former died two years later and her daughter ultimately struck a plea deal to avoid going to prison again. Later, Gerald was released on parole in 2004, as per CommonWealth Magazine.

Over the years, however, it has been speculated that the children were persuaded to make false allegations and there have been mixed views from people with some believing that the case ruined an innocent family and others still holding them accountable.

Very recently, last December, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker unsuccessfully petitioned to have Gerald and Cheryl pardoned.

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What Happened at Fells Acres? will further delve into the high-profile case this Wednesday at 11 pm on ID.