THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Wednesday, November 23, 2022 Page 7 Mystic Valley Seniors Nominated for U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Special to Th e Advocate C aroline Crowley and Eric Wang, both seniors at the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, were recently selected by Jeff rey Riley, Acting Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department Elementary and Secondary Education, as nominees for the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Crowley and Wang are the fourth and fi fth Mystic Valley students to receive this prestigious nomination. The next step in the process is that the students will be invited by the United States Education Department’s national review team to complete a new application to be considered for national recognition. The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964, by executive order of President, Lyndon Johnson to recogPARDONS | FROM PAGE 1 from children as young 3 and 4 years old. Nearly 40 years later, it was back in the news as Governor Charlie Baker announced he was granting pardons to two members of the same family who were convicted of child molestation charges and served jail time in connection with the case, Gerald Amirault and his sister, Cheryl Amirault LeFave. Gerald Amirault, 68, served 18 years of a 40-year sentence before being paroled in 2004.Cheryl Amirault LeFave, 65, spent eight years in prison before her conviction was overturned and she was released in 1995. Both worked in the family business, running Fells Acre Day Care, which was located in the West End of Malden for many years and was a popular choice for local families in the 1970s and 1980s until it was rocked by lurid accusations of widespread child molestation at the facility. The business was owned and operated by the late Violet Amirault, who was also convicted and served jail time in connection with the case. She was paroled and has since passed away. The way investigators interviewed the child witnesses led to doubts about their testimony and consequently the allegations against the Amiraults. Governor Baker was very specifi c in his agreement with that key aspect of the case in a statement announcing the pardons. "The investigations and prosecutions of the Amiraults in the 1980s took place without the benefit of scientific studies that have in the intervening years led to widespread adoption of investigative protocols designed to protect objectivity and reliability in the investigation of child sex abuse cases,” Baker stated. “I am left with grave doubt regarding the evidentiary strength of these convictions," Governor Baker added. "(The Amiraults) are deeply grateful to the Governor for granting them executive clemency," said their attorney. James Sultan. Attorney Sultan noted that many letters from judges and others in law enforcement supporting the pardons. "His decision will help to rectify a grievous wrong which has remained a serious blight on our criminal justice system for nearly four decades," Sultan said. Their pardons now go to the Governor's Council for review. The prosecution was based on testimony of nine children, who said under questioning that they had been molested at the Fells Acres daycare center. The Amiraults have consistently proclaimed their innocence. Gerald Amirault and Cheryl's mother, Violet, was also convicted in the 1987 trial. She died in 1997 as the case was being appealed, and the charges against her were dismissed posthumously a year later. "The Amiraults and their whole family, they live with this — this badge, this stigma of being convicted child sex molesters every day of their lives,” Attorney Sultan said in an online report. “Gerald is still on parole now, 38 years after these charges Rocco Longo, Owner were brought, he still is wearing an ankle bracelet,” Sultan added. “He is still subject to extremely stringent parole conditions. He is still polygraphed every couple of months. He can't travel. He and his wife can't travel to places that they've always wanted to travel to. And he is on the sex off ender registry for life because of that unjust conviction.” A pardon wouldn’t undo the pain the family has endured the last several decades, Sultan said, "but it does something to at least fi x things, and rectify them, so that they no longer and their family no longer have to bear this awful and unjustifi able burden,” he said. OUR OFFICE HAS MOVED TO 519 BROADWAY, EVERETT SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM nize and honor some of our nation's most distinguished graduating high school seniors. The Scholars represent excellence in education and the promise of greatness in young people. Application is by invitation only; therefore, students may not apply individually to the Program, nor may their schools nominate them. The selection of approximately 4,000 original program candidates generally is made based on SAT and ACT scores. Approximately twenty females and twenty males are selected as candidates from each state. A review committee of qualifi ed individuals experienced in secondary and post-secondary education evaluates candidates on their academic achievement, personal characteristics, leadership and service activities, and an analysis of their essay. Approximately 800 candidates are named semifinalists and forwarded to the Commission for further review. In April, the Commission on Presidential Scholars reviews the applications of all semifinalists based on the same criteria used by the review committee. The Commission selects up to 161 U.S Presidential Scholars each year. All scholars are honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program, held in June in Washington, D.C.
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