This is the trouble. The prosecutor on the Ayres case is STILL Melissa Mckowan. She never bothered to look into Ayres' training in Boston or at Yale for the first trial. She never challenged any of his statement about his training at Yale when Ayres testified. One person was so angry about this that they contacted the people at the places where Ayres trained in Boston and Yale and then tracked down people Ayres had actually trained with. They said Ayres is lying about his training, that no one was ever trained to give physical exams to boys in therapy. Yet Mckowan's whole premise in the first trial that it was standard practice for a shrink to be doing this.
A contributor named Trapellar for the Dr. William Ayres blog posted interviews done with the other doctors Ayres trained with. A mother of a victim, concerned that Mckowan had not done her job in the first trial, sent Mckowan the blog post called "Yale Debunks Ayres."http://williamayreswatch.blogspot.com/2009/12/yale-debunks-ayres-our-child.html
Mckowan actually posted a response UNDER HER OWN NAME. She asks if Ayres' old boss from Boston is still alive. Everyone wondered why she hadn't bothered to find this out herself - she would have found the answer instantly in a Google search. Bizarrely, Mckowan said in her post that she didn't read the blog as she had found the comments hurtful. Believe me, there was never anything hurtful in them. The Ayres bloggers went after Ayres and his lawyer.
When advocate Victoria Balfour complained to Mckowan's immediate boss, Karen Guidotti about Mckowan's post, and Guidotti said she didn't "see anything wrong" with Melissa posting. To others, it seemed bizarrely unprofessional.
Here's what prosecutor Mckowan posted on the Ayres blog:
Melissa McKowan said...
Finally, someone has found something that MIGHT actually be admissible. Although all the statements about what Solnit would and wouldn't have done are completely hearsay and likely to be inadmissible, doctors from the same time period who had the same education course and specialties MIGHT be able to talk about what they did. The info about Garner (Ayres old boss), again, is not "attributed" to anyone. You indicate that he "says" he never did/was trained to/does exams, but how do you know this? Did he personally say it? Is he still alive? Can he be called as a witness? Or is this just another "assumption" you're making based on something "someone" said. I have spoken with the "famous Boston Reporter" and while he's working on some things (which he will pass along to me) he has yet to actually find any witnesses who can testify to any of this hearsay stuff either. Unfortunately, I can not use hearsay statements. Judge Baker told ME, unlike whoever keeps talking about what their records will show, said there are no records from that time period. The reporter is trying to help to see if that's true. I know it is fashionable on the blogs to discuss your findings and then blame the DA for not discovering these things ourselves. But take my word for it, any "credible" tip that has come in has been looked into. So far, until this particular unattributed blog entry, I have never seen any "independent investigation" that has led to the discovery of an actual witness. For instance, the three (not four) Judge Baker Graduates who would allegedly have debunked Ayres' statements about being trained there--did NOT confirm to the police or the DA what it was alleged in the blogs that they would say. One told me that she had told the reporter who talked to her that she didn't know anything about Ayres and was in school later than him and that although she could say SHE was never trained to give exams, she "couldn't say for sure what his training was." That is NOT helpful. Another one refused to testify and the last one is physically unable to travel and lives in Europe. The blogs through around a lot of claims but trust me, if you have an actual tip (like what I might be seeing here in this particular entry) and you think it might lead to a witness or admissible evidence, please call me and I will be happy to talk to you about why the "evidence" either is or isn't admissible. I have let everyone know that if you come up with anything, I will certainly follow up on it. Many People have chosen to write only on these blogs which, I must say, I NEVER read becuase of the false and hurtful comments that are frequently directed at me, my office and my investigator. the only reason I read this entry today is because one of the victim's mothers sent it to me indcating it finally looked like it might have some good info. She was right. Thank you Barbara. Whoever "Trapellar" is, if you want to call me and discuss your "findings", I would be happy to talk to you. Thrilled in fact. The only thing I know for sure is that I am deeply committed to convicting Dr. Ayres for what he did to the boys/men I came to know and adore during the trial. I am also a very competitive person who HATES to lose!! That said, I invite anyone with information that they think will be useful to call me directly at the DA's office (650-363-4774) and talk to me about it. I wish you all well and I hope that I am successful in our mutual goal of convicting a horrible child molester. Thank you. Melissa McKowan, SMC DA's Office
January 29, 2010 7:12 AM
