.. and on his 18th birthday he found it wasn't his

I bet she has terrible luck with rakes.

No joke, my FIL works as a child psychologist / expert witness with the court system. Eyewitness testimony as the basis for a court case has been under increasing scrutiny in recent years, but with children it's downright insidious. Kids will say what they think you want to hear, every time, and an aggressive prosecution / defense can use this to their advantage.

Guilty abusers can get off scot-free because the kids don't fully understand that their abuser can't hurt them for testifying if they're deemed guilty, and will either say nothing or deny everything. Innocent parents - particularly fathers - can lose custody because the prosecution goaded their kid into saying something damning, either as a complete fabrication or a misinterpretation of the facts (i.e. responsible alcohol use = face-in-the-gutter alcoholic if you hear it from a 4-year-old), or custody can be lost because a child with no understanding of divorce is convinced to say "Mommy" instead of "Daddy" when asked which parent they want to stay with.

It takes an incredible mix of patience, kindness, and iron-willed moral resolution to make sure the court does right by these kids.

TL;DR... children can't be trusted, especially when it comes to protecting themselves.

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ Ann Perkins

Surprised the photo wasn't http://i.imgur.com/tvy9e9L.jpg.

As if you needed more reasons not to go.