It was, after all, such a great story, full of sex and violence and unspeakable crimes. And much of the story was based on the confessions, confessions, mind you, of the perpetrators themselves. And the cops and the prosecutors said they had the sworn testimony of accomplices and of the child victims and physical evidence and videotapes of the atrocities. But if the watchdogs failed then, it is even more important that we not fail now. We must keep the pressure on, working to right the wrongs that were done and demand punishment for those who did wrong.
People remain in prison on at least questionable guilty pleas and convictions.
Children remain in the Child Protective Services bureaucracy, some facing adoption. The official mechanisms of systems, laws and hierarchies all fail from time to time. When they do, it's essential that the unofficial and self-appointed watchdogs are ready to ask the questions and sound the alarm.