collaboration with the parents of the McMartin children. Effects on child abuse research Shortly after investigation into the McMartin charges began, the funds to research child sexual abuse greatly increased, notably through the budget allocated for the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN). The agency's budget increased from $1.8 million to $7.2 million between 1983 and 1984, increasing to $15 million in 1985, making it the greatest source of funding for child abuse and neglect prevention in the United States. The majority of this budget went toward studies on sexual abuse with only $5 million going towards physical abuse and neglect. Federal funding was also used to arrange conferences on ritual abuse, providing an aura of respectability as well as allowing prosecutors to exchange tips on the best means of obtaining convictions. A portion of the funds were used to publish the book Behind the Playground Walls, which used a sample of children drawn from the McMartin families. The book claimed to study the effects of "reported" rather than actual abuse but portrayed all of the McMartin children as actual victims of abuse despite a lack of convictions during the trials and without mentioning questions about the reality of the accusations. Another grant of $173,000 went to David Finkelhor who used the funds to investigate allegations of day care sexual abuse throughout the country, combining the study of verified crimes by admitted pedophiles and unverified accusations of satanic ritual abuse. Media In 1995, HBO produced Indictment: The McMartin Trial, a movie based on the trials. In 2019, Oxygen produced Uncovered: The McMartin Family Trials, a documentary about the events. See also Footnotes References Further reading External links The Dark Truth About The "Dark Tunnels of McMartin" – A 33-part comprehensive article by John Earl McMartin preschool trial , by the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance McMartin preschool trial at University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law McMartin preschool trial at Frontline 1984 controversies 1984 in Los Angeles 1980s controversies in the United States 1980s trials 20th-century American trials Day care sexual abuse allegations in the United States Criminal trials that ended in acquittal Satanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States