Franklin cover-up scandal

The Franklin Cover Up Scandal or Franklin Cover Up Hoax is a scandal involving alleged child abuse among the highest political circles in Nebraska , which became known in 1988 and led to an investigation. A jury ruled in 1990 that the allegations were untenable.

Procedure and allegations

In the wake of the Savings and Loan Crisis and the collapse of the Franklin Savings and Loan Bank in Nebraska, which exposed fraud and political manipulation, allegations arose that celebrities in the state's politics, business and media were involved in a sex ring who forced children into prostitution . Rumors of an involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency , the federal government and Satanic circles came up and took care of conspiracy theories .

The Washington Times headline on June 29, 1989, "Homosexual Prostitution Inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush". Journalists Paul M. Rodriguez and George Archibald alleged alleged links between key officials in the Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush administrations and a covert prostitution ring in Washington, DC that operated on underage males , and the article also reported that two of these prostitutes were involved even visited the White House at night. The allegations included a. "Kidnapping and Abuse of Minors for the Purpose of Sexual Perversion".

Among the key people allegedly involved were Craig J. Spence, a Washington lobbyist, and Lawrence E. King Jr., then manager of the Franklin Community Federal Credit Union in Nebraska. According to the New York Times on December 15, 1989, Senator Ernie Chambers of Nebraska made reports that "boys and girls, some from orphanages, have been transported across the country to perform sexual services for which they have been rewarded."

On January 10, 1989, the Nebraska State Parliament convened a committee of inquiry, chaired by Senator Loran Schmit. On January 30, 1990, Nebraska State Attorney Robert Spire called for a grand jury to investigate the incidents. On February 6, 1990, former District Judge Samuel Van Pelt was assigned a special attorney for the Douglas County Jury, which convened on March 12, 1990.

On 23 July 1990, the jury picked after hearing several hours of testimony the prosecution of sexual child abuse and described the accusations as "carefully prepared swindle" ( English Hoax ).

Historian Philip Jenkins believes the events are part of the moral panic of the 1980s.

Web links

• Eleanor Randolph: The Bombshell That Didn't Explode. In: The Washington Post , August 1, 1989.
• Omaha Tales of Sexual Abuse Ruled False. In: The New York Times , September 27, 1990.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Philip Jenkins: Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America. Yale University Press, New Haven, London 1998, pp. 174 f.
2. ↑ Scan of The Washington Times ( Memento of the original from November 30, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , June 29, 1989. 
3. ↑ Franklin coverup scandal newspaper scans , TheLawParty.org.
4. ^ Philip Jenkins: Moral Panic: Changing Concepts of the Child Molester in Modern America. Yale University Press, New Haven, London 1998, pp. 174 f.