Richard M Roberts wrote:Well now, shouldn't we say "accused pedophile" when referring to Gus Meins, or was he ever found guilty of any charges? I sometimes wonder if he didn't commit suicide just because the accusations would have been enough to have ended his career as a Director of childrens comedies or anything else for that matter. I never heard any of the Our Gang members say anything weird about Gus Meins or his behavior around them.
No, Meins wasn't found guilty of any charges, but only because he killed himself almost immediately after posting bond. He'd been arrested on the complaints of the parents of six different boys (ages 10-15), who all said Meins had molested them in the basement workshop of his home.
We've heard that Meins was afraid his Germanic last name would get him railroaded into prison. That's nonsense. He left no note. His son remembered him only saying, as he rushed out of the house the night he returned from jail, "You probably won't see me again." There was no conferring with a lawyer; not even a word for his wife, who was hysterical after Meins promptly drove off in his coupe, never to be seen alive again.
None of this whispers "innocent man" to me, but... who knows.