Kee MacFarlane

Kathleen 'Kee' MacFarlane (born 1947) is an American social worker known for involvement in the high-profile McMartin preschool trial in the 1980s. She was the Director of Children's Institute International. She developed the concept of the anatomically correct doll for children to use during interviews concerning abuse and played a significant role in the McMartin trial. MacFarlane has been criticized for her methods of interrogating small children. Charges against the defendants were eventually dropped.

Professional training She received a bachelor's degree in fine arts at Denison University in Ohio and later received her master's degree in social work. After graduation, MacFarlane became a lobbyist for the National Organization for Women and grant evaluator for the National Center for Child Abuse and Neglect, The interview techniques MacFarlane used during the investigation into the allegations were highly suggestive and invited children to pretend or speculate about supposed events. By spring of 1984, it was claimed that 360 children had been abused. Astrid Heppenstall Heger performed medical examinations and took photos of what she believed to be minute scarring which she stated was caused by anal penetration. Critics have alleged that the questioners repetitively asked the children leading questions which, it is said, always yields positive responses from young children, making it impossible to know what the child actually experienced. Others believe that the questioning itself may have led to false memory syndrome among the children who were questioned. Ultimately only 41 of the original 360 children testified during the grand jury and pretrial hearings, and fewer than a dozen testified during the actual trial.

MacFarlane went on to testify before Congress that she believed there was an organized, nationwide conspiracy of individuals and "orthodox satanic groups" sexually abusing children, although she never presented evidence of who any of the individuals were nor proof of any orthodox satanic groups.

Publications

Books and book chapters

Videos

The Clinical Interview; with Joanne Ross Feldmeth, Karen Saywitz (1988)

Footnotes