Judge sets bail for man convicted of daycare abuse in 1980s

WORCESTER, Mass. --A man who has spent the past two decades behind bars after being convicted of molesting five children at a Pittsfield daycare center where he worked could be freed on bail pending a new trial, a judge ruled Thursday.

A Superior Court judge on June 13 issued an 81-page ruling granting a new trial for Bernard Baran, who supporters say was wrongly convicted during the national hysteria over child-care sex abuse cases in the 1980s.

Judge Francis Fecteau found Baran's original attorney was so incompetent that it called into question whether he got a fair trial. Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless is appealing Fecteau's ruling.

On Thursday, Fecteau set bail at $50,000 cash -- a sum Baran's lawyer says he cannot yet meet. The judge insisted his ruling was not a statement on Baran's guilt or innocence.

"The defendant still has a long road in front of him, still uphill," Fecteau said.

If Baran is able to come up with bail, the judge must still decide whether he can be released given that Baran has been classified as a sexually dangerous person. Baran is currently incarcerated at the treatment center for sex offenders in Bridgewater.

The case against Baran, who is openly gay, began when a mother complained she didn't want "a queer" working with her child. When the daycare center did not fire him, she called police a month later alleging abuse. Another parent also alleged a daughter was abused.

During the investigation, state social workers went to the daycare and staged a puppet show for children, demonstrating the difference between good touches and bad touches. After the show, two boys said they saw Baran touch the other.

A fifth alleged victim came forward the day Baran's trial began. The defense attorney allowed Baran to be prosecuted for the fifth charge, even though he had been given no time to prepare a defense.

Attorney John Swomley said that Baran has a wide base of supporters who have offered to find him housing and employment.

"They will care for him," Swomley said.

The conditions of his release would include wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet and that he have no unsupervised contact with anyone under age 16.

Baran's case was one of the first in the nation in which preschoolers testified against their alleged abusers.

Two years later, the Fells Acres case in Malden captured national attention when three family members were convicted of abusing children.

Gerald "Tooky" Amirault was paroled in 2004 after serving 18 years in prison. His sister and mother were convicted during a separate trial and were released from prison in 1995. His mother died in 1997.

Baran and the Amiraults claimed their child accusers concocted stories about the alleged abuse under pressure from overzealous investigators.