Father Accused of Abuse Wins $55,000 in Suit Against Fairfax Police
The Washington Post
Mary Jordan
Aug 27, 1987
After the prosecutor dropped all charges against him, [William J. Kelly Jr.] sued William H. Whilden and the Fairfax County Police Department for allegedly "coercing" his children into making statements that he sexually abused them. The 45-year-old photographer contended that when Whilden asked the children if they ever "fooled around" with their father, they said "no." Whilden's attorneys argued that the photographs were not of the type that children snapped of each other. They denied that Whilden overstepped the bounds of his authority and coerced the children into giving him the story "he wanted to hear." Kelly's lawsuit also charged that Whilden and the Fairfax County Police Department had maliciously prosecuted and maliciously imprisoned him, charges that the jury found were not substantiated.