Alicia Wade
⬤
public
1989 May 8
8-year-old girl was plucked from her bedroom by Albert Raymond Carder Jr., a known sex offender active in the area. Carder took the girl to a nearby field and raped her. He told her to be quiet or he would kill her. Then he brought her back. Alicia told all this to authorities the next day, after her injuries were discovered.
Authorities thought she was lying to protect her father. Alicia was taken from her family and placed in foster care. Her therapist, her social worker and even a Juvenile Court judge pushed the girl to tell a "more believable" story. In time, she accused her dad, Jim Wade.
Authorities pursued the case against Wade even though they knew Carder had attacked five other girls in the same neighborhood at about the same time. They had prosecuted Carder, winning convictions and a 25-year prison sentence. With Wade's trial in the offing, defense attorney Michael McGlinn asked to have Alicia's night clothes tested for evidence. Semen stains, overlooked by police investigators, were discovered. Testing on the stains excluded Wade as the source of the semen. The testing pointed instead to Carder. Charges against Wade were dropped and Alicia was returned home.
Authorities thought she was lying to protect her father. Alicia was taken from her family and placed in foster care. Her therapist, her social worker and even a Juvenile Court judge pushed the girl to tell a "more believable" story. In time, she accused her dad, Jim Wade.
Authorities pursued the case against Wade even though they knew Carder had attacked five other girls in the same neighborhood at about the same time. They had prosecuted Carder, winning convictions and a 25-year prison sentence. With Wade's trial in the offing, defense attorney Michael McGlinn asked to have Alicia's night clothes tested for evidence. Semen stains, overlooked by police investigators, were discovered. Testing on the stains excluded Wade as the source of the semen. The testing pointed instead to Carder. Charges against Wade were dropped and Alicia was returned home.
Documents
Title | Publication date |
---|---|
A story so sad it's kinda scary | 1999 Aug 9 |
Rape-case therapist gives up license | 1996 Mar 20 |
Wade case stirs calls for more accountability in child-abuse probes | 1995 May 15 |
State may suspend license of therapist | 1995 Apr 21 |
Sexual assault trial ordered for Carder | 1994 Sep 15 |
Convict charged in Wade rape case | 1994 Feb 18 |
Suspect switch poses dilemma in child-rape case | 1992 Dec 31 |
Bungled child abuse cases | 1992 Nov 25 |
Sex, lies and county government: Abuse case shows it all | 1992 Jul 19 |
Grand jury: classic flaws in rape case | 1992 Jun 27 |
Family's ordeal continues after father wrongly accused of rape | 1992 Mar 8 |
PARENTS SUE FOR MISTAKEN LINK TO DAUGHTER'S RAPE | 1991 Dec 29 |