January 17

Events

• Current events

• 1964 - A gentle man, for all seasons - Terence Hanbury White, better known as T. H. White, the author who wrote books for boys died on this date. White was born in 1906 and was an English master at Stowe School from 1930 to 1936. His best-known work is The Once and Future King (In four parts - 1939-58), a quirky and delightful retelling of the story of King Arthur and his knights. It was also the basis for the successful Broadway musical Camelot. White once wrote the following about a 10 year old boy he was in love with: "I have fallen in love with Zed.... I love him for being happy and innocent.... He could not stand the weight of the world against such feelings - not that they are bad in themselves. It is the public opinion which makes them so. In any case, on every score of his happiness, not my safety, the whole situation is an impossible one. All I can do is behave like a gentleman. It has been my hideous fate to be born with an infinite capacity for love and joy with no hope of using them.... I do not believe that some sort of sexual relations with Zed would do him harm - he would probably think and call them t'rific. I do not believe I could hurt him spiritually or mentally. I do not believe that perverts are made so by seduction. I do not think that sex is evil...."

• 1990 - The end of a hellish nightmare - Peggy Buckey, daughter of Virginia McMartin, was acquitted of all 13 charges against her and her husband, Ray, was acquitted of 39 charges on this date. This effectively brought an end to what became known as "the McMartin trials," a literal witch hunt that concocted tales of satanic ritual abuse against pre-schoolers in California. The jury's vote was split a few remaining charges against Ray, with large majorities in favor of acquittal, but they were ultimately dropped. Mrs. Buckey's trial lasted 3 years and the entire case lasted seven years and cost Los Angeles County $13 million, making it the longest and costliest criminal prosecution in U.S. history. Superior Court Judge William Pounders, said that the case had "poisoned everyone who had contact with it."

• 2001 - Mom says: Her son is not too young for sex, but too young for love. - The mother of a 13 year old boy in Wisconsin bought him condoms when she found out that he was having oral and vaginal sex with his 15 year old girlfriend. As a result of that police investigated her because she did not prevent the boy from being "sexually abused." If convicted, she could have faced up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors refused to comment on the case for some time, probably because they were trying to figure out what the hell to do with it. The investigation was still ongoing on this date, but it with a public backlash against it, it was probably also about this date that the DA woke up and realized the insanity of proceeding with the case. Less than two weeks after the charges were laid, they were dropped with prejudice. When asked why she allowed the boy to continue to engage in sex, the mother told police that her son was too young to "understand that sex should come with love." Cool mom.