Mackenzie Phillips' Oprah BOMBSHELL: Reveals Family Secret, Sex With Her Father:

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/mackenzie-phillips-oprah_n_294479.html

As a former prosecutor who specialized in cases involving the sexual abuse of children, I am deeply saddened, but hardly shocked that people would be so critical of Mackenzie Phillips, a woman whose story has the "ring of truth" that that all investigators, prosecutors and ultimately juries, look for. The incest taboo is so strong that our society's first instinct is to hush--and then shame-- the victim, whose story makes us deeply uneasy. This response only drives an all too prevalent problem further underground, allowing thousands of monstrous criminals to operate with impunity in full daylight, while the children in their care suffer a nightmarish existence.

I would love the opportunity to argue Ms Philips case on her behalf. Yes, her father is dead--conveniently, some say, but it is a heart-wrenching fact that many incest survivors only come forward after the death of their abuser, not out of fear, but out of the absolutely unshakable love that all very young children feel toward their parents. Ironically, this love--and loyalty-- often remains especially strong among abused children whose yearning for genuine affection is never met. As a result, many of these children grow into adulthood with a mix of deeply distorted emotions about themselves and their abuser that are reflected and repeated in relationship after relationship.

John Philips admitted introducing his adolescent daughter to drugs, which not only provides evidence of his total unfitness as a parent, but which can also be indicative of the "grooming" or preparation of victims by sexual predators. He also stood by while his friend Mick Jagger had sex with a teenage Mackenzie, an act which is considered rape under the law for good reason.

Finally, I would ask you to consider Ms Philip's demeanor, something that jurors are allowed to do when judging the veracity of a witness. I'll bet, if you watch her on Oprah (and I won't--I have seen enough) that a life of pain is etched into her face and carried in her voice.

So Ms. Philips has written a book and stands to make a small monetary profit as the result of her abuse? I hoped that in some small way, it helps her to exorcise the demons that will never truly leave her. Rather than be scorned and condemned, she is to be commended for her bravery in using her private agony to cast light into a dark corner we would all rather turn away from. I know that if one child, male or female, sees her story on Oprah or Entertainment Tonight or anywhere else and as a result, has the courage to pick up the phone and call the police or tell a teacher, a neighbor or a trusted adult and whisper his or her own private horror, it will have been worth it.