She is free without bail awaiting trial. The investigation had been going on for two years. Voting for the Academy Awards ended Tuesday, so it's unclear whether the groups' actions will have an effect on the outcome. "I was refreshed by that. On the other side are the Nassau County officials, who are featured in the film but strongly denounce it as "fiction." Jesse Friedman, who pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges in 1988, was paroled after 13 years in prison. He asked not to be identified. But most important, the story was told by the Friedmans themselves in a collection of home videos shot before, during and after the charges that was woven into "Capturing the Friedmans," the first feature film of director Andrew Jarecki, which opened to rave reviews Friday. Officers often seem to file as many charges as conceivable, leaving it to the courts to sort out which ones stick. "It certainly complicates matters, because there's sort of a general prejudice," he says. "Now the issue is transitioning to a new setting," he says, "and it's not a setting in which I have much relevance because the stakes are not mine.". Frances Galasso, the retired detective-sergeant who was in charge of the Friedman case, defended the integrity of the investigation. She tried to convince her companion that something horrible had indeed happened in the Friedman house. Could dozens of boys, age 7 to 11, suffer sodomizing episodes in front of each other without any of them ever telling their parents? And Arnold played the piano at the marriage of Speiser's daughter in 1984. The judge could deny it outright [or] grant it. But Friedman also shouts. "The industry has made untold millions in profits this year byportraying the suffering of our nation's children as a form of entertainment," said Irene Weiser, executive director of Stop Family Violence, a national grassroots activist organization. Other letters followed; the correspondents became "Stan" and "Arnie." Mr. Friedman, now 44, married and running an online book-selling business, was freed on parole in 2001 after serving 13 years and is now classified as a Level 3 violent sex offender, which bars him from being near playgrounds, schools, houses of worship and other places children may gather. Jarecki realizes that audiences want to scream at her: "Don't you notice that your son, at the end of the table, who's been quiet here, is the only relevant issue here? Bookings: 9882 1221. And while both Arnold and Jesse Friedman had confessed to their crimes, recent events have shown that confessions may not always be what they seem: "The five 'Central Park jogger' defendants confessed convincingly," noted Jarecki, yet their convictions were overturned a dozen years later. How will your audience ever know? The fact there was an adult witness ready to testify against Jesse is never mentioned or alluded to. His mother, Elaine Friedman, sat with her eyes closed or her gaze averted during most of the proceeding. 3142(i) requires that when pretrial detention is ordered, "the judicial officer shall -- (1) include written findings of fact and a written statement of the reasons for the detention; . Where did this come from? Even after he grudgingly agreed to an interview on the steps of his old house, Jarecki says, "he said the same inane things -- 'My father was a great guy, and my brother goes to school.'