2. The Friedmans
Arnold and Jesse Friedman were a father and son convicted of child molestation. They were also the subject of an HBO documentary. It was the purchase of a child porn magazine by Arnold that caused their downfall. The magazine was intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service in 1987, and that led to Arnold’s arrest.
Arnold taught children’s computer classes in his home and police suspected it was during these classes that illegal activity was occurring. Some children reported bizarre sex games during class, while others could not corroborate the story. The HBO documentary insinuated that police had started a witch hunt against the Freidmans.
While Arnold and Jesse awaited trial the family shot a lot of home videos simply documenting what was going on in their lives. Arnold’s wife decided he was guilty and pleaded with him to save their son. She eventually divorced him. Arnold ended up confessing to multiple cases of child sexual abuse but claimed this never occurred in the computer classes he taught. The family later stated that Arnold did this in an effort to save Jesse.
Jesse later confessed to two cases of child abuse. He claimed he confessed to reducing his sentence. Jesse also later claimed that he was a victim of Arnold’s abuse. Arnold eventually committed suicide in prison and left his life insurance policy to Jesse. Jesse served thirteen years in prison and was released in 2001 and still fighting to clear his name. The HBO documentary was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003.