Sixteen Pages of Allegations. One Page of Truth.
On February 28, 2016, VTDigger published one of the most damaging stories ever written about me. By then, the allegations at the heart of the story had already been investigated and rejected by multiple law enforcement agencies, child protection authorities, prosecutors, and the family court. It was called “This Never Ends for Him.”
The article was written by Elizabeth Hewitt. It was published under the “leadership” of VTDigger founder and editor Anne Galloway.
They Buried the Truth on Page Seventeen.
Imagine reading a 24-page investigative report accusing a mother of unspeakable crimes.
Page after page, you’re told about therapists. Investigators. Interviews. Expert opinions. Graphic allegations.
You keep reading because surely all of this must be leading somewhere.
It does.
On page 17.
That’s where VTDigger finally tells readers what the family court had actually concluded after years of litigation.
“It is difficult to imagine a more complete destruction of a parent-child relationship based on false allegations of abuse.”
Wait.
False allegations?
Yes. After sixteen pages spent immersing readers in horrifying accusations, the article finally acknowledges that the court concluded those very allegations had destroyed a mother and son’s relationship.
But by then the damage was already done, because that’s how narratives work. You remember the accusation. You forget page seventeen.
VTDigger didn’t have to invent the allegations. They simply amplified them.
Reporter Elizabeth Hewitt assembled the story. Editor Anne Galloway approved it.
The article prominently featured Massachusetts psychologist Dr. Bambi Rattner, whose opinion that abuse had occurred was presented alongside allegations that investigators had not substantiated and prosecutors had never charged.
The irony is almost impossible to ignore. The article itself contains the evidence that undermines its own narrative.
You just have to survive sixteen pages before you get there.
As Intended, The Readers Bought the Bullshit
The comments published beneath the article became a case study in the power of narrative. Many readers accepted the allegations as established fact, praised the reporting, and criticized the family court for attempting reunification, even though the article itself acknowledged that prosecutors filed no criminal charges, DCF did not substantiate the allegations, and the family court found the allegations to be untrue.
The irony is difficult to miss. Readers reached the end believing the allegations, while the article itself contained the court’s conclusion that those allegations were false. That is the difference between including a fact and giving it meaningful weight.
I later brought a civil lawsuit that included claims against VTDigger arising from the publication of this article. Although those claims were ultimately unsuccessful, the article was later removed from VTDigger’s website without any public correction or explanation.
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