Ed Jagels
Encyclopedia
Ed Jagels is an American prosecutor
best known for obtaining child sexual abuse
convictions as Kern County, California
District Attorney
against 36 innocent people in the Kern County child abuse cases
, and for leading successful conservative efforts to replace liberal California Supreme Court justices in the 1980s.
, much of which proved to be false. Soon after his election he created a task force
to investigate sex crimes against children. The cases eventually brought between 1983 and 1987 involved false claims of satanic ritual abuse
performed by eight supposed pedophile groups. The cases, brought without physical evidence, were based solely on the testimony of alleged child victims who had been coached and sometimes tricked into testifying against their parents and other adults. Long prison sentences were obtained against many adults, but the cases began to unravel in the late 1980s as the children recanted their testimony. Of the 26 convictions, 25 were reversed. The county paid out nearly $10 million to settle claims made by the former prisoners and the alleged victims. Actor Sean Penn
, who met a man accused of child sex crimes, narrated and served as executive producer
for the documentary film
, Witch Hunt
, concerning the event.
As a "get tough on crime" prosecutor, Jagels was very popular in his conservative town of Bakersfield, California
. In the 2000s he prosecuted a man under the three strikes law, which carried a mandatory 25-year prison sentence, for stealing a pack of doughnuts worth less than $1, because the man had been convicted of two felonies in the 1970s. He was unapologetic about the false convictions in the 1980s sex abuse case, and was re-elected six times as district attorney, before announcing his retirement in 2009. He led a voter campaign to defeat three liberal justices from California's supreme court, and was influential in promoting victims' rights
, the death penalty, and California's three strikes law
.
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
best known for obtaining child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
convictions as Kern County, California
Kern County, California
Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
against 36 innocent people in the Kern County child abuse cases
Kern County child abuse cases
The Kern County child abuse cases started the day care sexual abuse hysteria of the 1980s in Kern County, California. The cases involved claims of Satanic ritual abuse that were performed by pedophile sex rings with as many as 60 children testifying they had been abused. At least 36 people were...
, and for leading successful conservative efforts to replace liberal California Supreme Court justices in the 1980s.
Career
Jagels was first elected to the Kern County prosecutor's office in 1983, at a time when the United States public attention was focused on rumors of child molestation and SatanismSatanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, much of which proved to be false. Soon after his election he created a task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
to investigate sex crimes against children. The cases eventually brought between 1983 and 1987 involved false claims of satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse
Satanic ritual abuse refers to the abuse of a person or animal in a ritual setting or manner...
performed by eight supposed pedophile groups. The cases, brought without physical evidence, were based solely on the testimony of alleged child victims who had been coached and sometimes tricked into testifying against their parents and other adults. Long prison sentences were obtained against many adults, but the cases began to unravel in the late 1980s as the children recanted their testimony. Of the 26 convictions, 25 were reversed. The county paid out nearly $10 million to settle claims made by the former prisoners and the alleged victims. Actor Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...
, who met a man accused of child sex crimes, narrated and served as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
for the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Witch Hunt
Witch Hunt (film)
Witch Hunt is a 2008 documentary produced and narrated by Sean Penn about the Kern County child abuse cases in Kern County, California in the early 1980s.-External links:*...
, concerning the event.
As a "get tough on crime" prosecutor, Jagels was very popular in his conservative town of Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. In the 2000s he prosecuted a man under the three strikes law, which carried a mandatory 25-year prison sentence, for stealing a pack of doughnuts worth less than $1, because the man had been convicted of two felonies in the 1970s. He was unapologetic about the false convictions in the 1980s sex abuse case, and was re-elected six times as district attorney, before announcing his retirement in 2009. He led a voter campaign to defeat three liberal justices from California's supreme court, and was influential in promoting victims' rights
Victims' Rights
-History:Victim movements in the U.S. grew in the 1970s. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime released its Final Report. The report drew attention to the re-victimization of crime victims within the criminal justice system...
, the death penalty, and California's three strikes law
Three strikes law
Three strikes laws)"are statutes enacted by state governments in the United States which require the state courts to hand down a mandatory and extended period of incarceration to persons who have been convicted of a serious criminal offense on three or more separate occasions. These statutes became...
.