It’s interesting that the article doesn’t even cover that the charge that Woody abused 7-year old Dylan was investigated by the police. A Yale medical team including psychoanalysts investigated and concluded that the abuse never happened. Their conclusions suggested heavily that either Dylan was delusional or Mia helped make the whole thing up, perhaps through memory implantation. In previous cases of memory implantation (and there are very many cases where children are imprinted on by adults and claim abuse, for example the Kern County child abuse cases), these memories can last into adulthood, being perceived as real by the person.
Dylan’s own therapist who had treated her for years and also had seen Allen, Dr. Coates, explicitly testified in court that she never saw any evidence of a sexual nature to Allen’s actions towards Dylan. Another psychotherapist said the same.
Google “Doctor Cites Inconsistencies in Dylan Farrow’s Statements”
Also, her nanny came right out and said that Farrow pressured her to support the allegations against Allen, spent three days taping Dylan’s account, and testified that Farrow hit the children. Google “nanny casts doubt on farrow charges”, google “nanny testifies that farrow slapped son”
Finally, these charges came up during the beginnings of a custody battle between Farrow and Allen. Less than two weeks before Dylan was first reporting these allegations, Farrow had penned a letter to a close friend (that was later released to the press). The letter only mentions the Soon-Yi-Allen relationship and the mental anguish it was causing Mia Farrow. In the letter she specifically states that she was “perilously close to a genuine meltdown of my very core” (google that phrase to find it).
Given the evidence above, that scientific reviews have found that in custody cases where child abuse is claimed 14-20% is specifically false and arises either willfully or unconsciously due to the contentious circumstances, and that contemporanous news reports in 1992-1993 even pointed to a surge in false child abuse cases for leverage in custody battles, there is significant reason to doubt this ever happened.
Maureen Sullivan seemed well aware of weird and unnatural behavior on the part of Woody Allen. One of the children always screamed “Woody no goody!” when he came into the house and Dylan escaped under the bed. He did take pornographic photos of his now wife and left them on his mantelpiece for Farrow to see. That is what kicked this off to begin with.
That doesn’t make Allen a bad filmmaker. He’s actually a good filmmaker and an even better writer of films. But there are many unanswered questions about his behavior.
I also know that very famous and influential people get away with murder in this country. Bill Clinton, for one. I would not dismiss this young woman’s charges out of hand.
We may have to agree to disagree over this case.
My knowledge of pedophilia and the evidence that we were exposed to at the time had me believing THEN that there were serious problems with wood’s relationship with his daughter Dylan. He was clearly wooing or grooming her, either with “malice aforethought” (grooming) or simply not stopping at societal bounds (wooing or “falling in love” with her).
Now, with both Ronan’s and Dylan’s heartfelt statements, especially of course the first hand story from Dylan, I completely believe he crossed the line into child abuse / rape. I believe what we know about Woody’s behavior is consistent with him both believing he is above society’s moral limits, and evidence even in his work that he is at least titillated by underage girls.
There are implanted memories and there are newly opened old memories and there are real memories. I’ve seen them all. This to me looks ONLY like real memories that were never “locked away.” I’m sure she got treatment as a child, and maybe therapy her whole life for this.
I wouldn’t want an innocent man persecuted for something he didn’t do, but when the child has been consistent her whole life, I believe her. This happened. Woody isn’t innocent.