Fells Acres lawyers ask SJC to reconsider 

By Associated Press, 09/02/99 00:27 

BOSTON (AP) Lawyers for Cheryl LeFave have asked the state's highest
court to reconsider its recent ruling in the controversial Fells Acres
child abuse case. 

The Supreme Judicial Court two weeks ago overturned an order for a new
trial for LeFave by a Superior Court judge. It was the second time the
SJC has taken such action in the case, which dates back to the 1980s. 

James Sultan, one of LeFave's lawyers, said the request for
reconsideration which was filed Wednesday was a ''longshot.'' But he said
it was just one of the options being explored. He said lawyers are also
considering appealing to federal court and asking Gov. Paul Cellucci to
pardon LeFave or commute her sentence. 

Cellucci said he would consider such a request. 

LeFave, along with her mother Violet Amirault, was convicted in 1987 of
sexually abusing children at her family's day-care center in Malden.
LeFave has consistently maintained her innocence in the case, which
relied heavily on testimony from young children. 

LeFave and her mother were released from prison in 1995 when a judge
overturned the convictions. She had served eight years of an eight-to-20
year sentence. Violet Amirault died in 1997. 
LeFave's brother Gerald Amirault was convicted in a separate trial and
remains in prison. 
A spokesman for the Middlesex County district attorney's Office declined
comment on the latest filing, saying the office had not yet received it. 


Boston Herald Sept 2 1999

LeFave pardon bid would get `serious look' from Cellucci 
by Ed Hayward 

Thursday, September 2, 1999 

Gov. Paul Cellucci promised to give Fells Acres Day School defendant
Cheryl Amirault LeFave ``careful consideration'' should she seek
commutation or pardon for her child sex abuse convictions. 
Cellucci spoke on the same day LeFave's attorney filed a ``last gasp''
bid to get the Supreme Judicial Court to reverse its ruling two weeks ago
that reinstated LeFave's conviction and ordered her to resume her prison
term. 

``I would obviously give it a serious look,'' said Cellucci. ``To my
knowledge that has not happened. If it does happen, we will study it very
carefully.'' 

The SJC rejected arguments by attorneys for LeFave - convicted in 1987
with her late mother Violet Amirault - that new studies proved
investigators and therapists tainted the testimony of the child witnesses
in their 1987 trial. 

LeFave has been free pending a series of appeals since 1995. The SJC's
decision threw out a ruling by a Superior Court judge that LeFave
deserved a new trial and ordered her to resume serving her 8- to 20-year
sentence. 

Asked if he had formed any opinions on the state's most notorious child
sex abuse prosecution, Cellucci said any decision he makes will be based
on a review of LeFave's application and the response of prosecutors. 

``If in fact a petition for commutation or a pardon was filed, I'd
obviously want to look at it very carefully and look at all the facts and
circumstances and listen to the pros and cons,'' said Cellucci. ``But I
would give it very careful consideration.'' 

LeFave's attorney, James Sultan, said no application for commutation or
pardon has been submitted. 

``I'm happy to hear the governor would give a commutation or pardon
petition serious consideration,'' said Sultan. 

``We have not yet decided whether or not to file such a petition. But if
and when we do, we're looking forward to his consideration,'' he said. 

Technically, LeFave is due back in prison after the SJC's decision is
entered into the court record 28 days after the Aug. 19 ruling. 

But Sultan said her return to prison will likely follow the response to
yesterday's request for SJC reconsideration, which he called ``our last
gasp before the SJC.'' 

If LeFave does return to prison, she is already eligible for parole and
she would quickly apply for a parole board hearing, Sultan said. 

In the past, the roadblock to LeFave's release has been the requirement
she admit guilt, which she refuses to do. 

LeFave and her mother and her brother, Gerald ``Tooky'' Amirault, have
maintained their innocence since the case made national headlines in 1985
amid a series of alleged day care sex abuse cases. 
Herald staffer Cosmo Macero contributed to this report. 
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