September 1997. In August 1999, the SJC again reinstated Cheryl Amirault LeFave's conviction, and the following month, rejected her request for a new trial. As a result, she was expected to be ordered back to prison. However, in October 1999, the new district attorney for Middlesex County, Martha Coakley, reached an agreement with the defense whereby Cheryl dropped efforts to clear her name and avoided returning to prison. Cheryl agreed to 10 years probation, and also could not give any television interviews, could not contact the families of the victims, could have no unsupervised contact with children, and could not profit in any way from her trial and imprisonment. Later developments Dorothy Rabinowitz, a member of the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2001, partly for her coverage of the case. She wrote that "the prosecutors had no shred of physical or other proof that could remotely pass as evidence of abuse." The case was featured in her 2003 book about miscarriages of justice, No Crueler Tyrannies. The Massachusetts parole board recommended the commutation of Gerald Amirault's sentence in July 2001, an action that the alleged victims strenuously objected to. The then-Acting Governor, Jane Swift, rejected the decision in February 2002. Gerald Amirault was ultimately released from the Bay State Correctional Center on April 30, 2004. In November 2022, outgoing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker recommended pardons for Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault LeFave due to "grave doubt regarding the evidentiary strength" of their convictions. The recommendation required approval by the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Baker withdrew the recommendation on December 14, 2022, as "there didn’t appear to be enough support" within the council. References Further reading Booknotes interview with Dorothy Rabinowitz on No Crueler Tyrannies: Accusation, False Witness, and Other Terrors of Our Times, May 4, 2003. via C-SPAN External links COMMONWEALTH vs. GERALD AMIRAULT. 399 Mass. 617 (1987) COMMONWEALTH vs. GERALD AMIRAULT. 404 Mass. 221 (1989) COMMONWEALTH vs. CHERYL AMIRAULT LEFAVE. 407 Mass. 927 (1990) COMMONWEALTH vs. VIOLET AMIRAULT. 415 Mass. 112 (1993) COMMONWEALTH vs. VIOLET AMIRAULT. COMMONWEALTH vs. GERALD AMIRAULT. 424 Mass. 618 (1997) COMMONWEALTH VS. CHERYL AMIRAULT LEFAVE. 430 Mass. 169 (1999) Fells Acres day care sexual abuse trial Day care sexual abuse allegations in the United States 1980s in Massachusetts Malden, Massachusetts