A PENTECOSTAL pastor and his wife have been acquitted of running a child sex ring which police said operated in a small town known as Happy Valley.
The cases were the last in an 18-month investigation which critics said was a witchhunt by an over-zealous police officer and social workers who created a climate of sexual hysteria.
In all, more than 40 adults were arrested and at least 20 are in jail. Critics said statements were coaxed from children and "confessions" extracted from bewildered, poorly educated parents.
Pastor Robert Roberson, 50, and his wife, Connie, 45, were found not guilty of leading ritualistic orgies in their church at Wenatchee, Washington, allegedly involving mass rapes and assaults.
There was no physical evidence to support the charges and the main prosecution witness was the 13-year-old daughter of Robert Perez, a police officer who had been on a campaign against what he said was a widespread child sex ring.
The only adult to testify was a convicted child rapist who said after a plea bargain deal that he saw Mr Roberson abuse two girls near the church altar Most of those in jail are poor and mentally retarded. Their lawyers say they were forced to confess.
The US Justice Department is expected to decide soon whether there will be a formal investigation. Gary Riesen, the county prosecutor, said Mr Perez would return to uniformed patrol duty.