In 1985, Frank Fuster – the owner of the Country Walk Babysitting Service in the Country Walk suburb of Miami, Florida – was found guilty of 14 counts of abuse. He was sentenced to a prison with a minimum length of 165 years. Fuster's victims testified that his "unspeakable acts" included leading them in Satanic rituals and terrorizing them by forcing them to watch him mutilate birds, a lesson to children who might reveal the abuse.Fuster had been previously convicted for manslaughter and for fondling a 9-year-old child.Testimony from children in the case was extracted by Laurie and Joseph Braga, a husband-and-wife team who resorted to coercive questioning of the alleged victims when the desired answers were not forthcoming.Fuster's wife recanted her court testimony in an interview with Frontline, saying that she was kept naked in solitary confinement and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological duress until she agreed to testify against her husband.

Information

Country Walk

1985

Legal Results

The case was prosecuted by Dade County state's attorney Janet Reno. As of 2014, Fuster continues to serve a 165-year prison sentence