Radley Balko’s story is powerful and essential — but it still pulls its punches. The real engine behind this moral catastrophe wasn’t "the system" or "groupthink" in the abstract. It was Robert and Alison: a high-status couple with the power to define a narrative and impose it through sheer social force.
They were not faceless parents caught up in tragedy. They initiated the accusations, spread them socially, confronted Silverman in public, and maintained pressure on institutions, journalists, and other families to align with their suspicions — even in the face of zero evidence, multiple retractions, and three separate law enforcement agencies explicitly clearing the accused. If they had not done what they did, none of the rest would have happened. They should no longer enjoy anonymity.
This is the Robert and Alison phenomenon:
> Affluent, connected actors hijack moral authority.
> Their social capital lends instant credibility to baseless claims.
> They become the unofficial prosecutors, the narrative framers, and the enforcers.
> And they suffer no accountability when lives are destroyed.
Silverman is right to be angry — not only because of what was done to him, but because there is no structure in place to stop it from happening again. That’s where reform must begin:
1. End automatic anonymity for adult accusers in civil or reputationally damaging cases, especially when the accused is publicly named and no charges are filed.
2. Raise evidentiary standards at agencies like CFSA, which should not be issuing “substantiated” findings without corroboration, especially after one-day investigations.
3. Create funded legal recourse and reputational remedies for the wrongly accused — including “reverse TROs,” (court orders that bar accusers or third parties from continuing to spread proven‑false allegations once an investigation has cleared the accused) expungement mechanisms, and public declarations of exoneration.
4. Rebuild a culture of reputational due process. Accusation is not guilt. Institutions and media must stop treating it as such.
Silverman wasn’t just cleared. He was hunted, harassed, vandalized, and impoverished for seven years — and finally vindicated only when CFSA quietly changed its ruling to “unfounded” on the eve of a hearing.
Balko does well to show how systems amplify harm. But until we look squarely at how individuals like Robert and Alison exploit their moral clout without oversight, this story will keep repeating. Not because the system fails — but because the status hierarchy works exactly as designed.
The kind of journalism now rarely seen, exhaustive and fair minded. As a grandparent of two granddaughters who has wiped both their respective bottoms at appropriate moments, I can see how easy it would be to view innocent interactions with toddlers as something more. Just upgraded my subscription to "founding" based on this writing.
Wow, clearly a well-researched case. An easy but lengthy read. I hope eventually Silverman can reconnect with his sons and he gets some semblance of justice after all that. Seems wholly unfair. All the best to him and his family.
Thank you,Radley for seeing this story all the way through to the end. Your fearless commitment to the truth is very commendable. Most of all I really appreciate your kindness and bringing Jordan’s story to the public. Thanks for believing in him. https://gofund.me/8269dcc2e
Radley rightly noted that Michael Dolce of Cohen Milstein — the attorney who repeatedly attacked Jordan in the media — was later indicted and sentenced to prison. For anyone interested, here’s the Department of Justice’s official release:
It’s understandable that Radley kept the focus on Jordan himself, but there’s another detail that adds important context. Jordan’s ex-wife, Alisa Silverman, who kept dragging him back into court until he was financially depleted and was forced to give up Parental Rights, later settled with the Department of Justice for $1.6 million after defrauding federal programs meant to help disabled veterans, minority contractors, and women-owned small businesses.
While it can’t be proven where the funds fueling years of litigation came from, the timing and circumstances certainly make the connection hard to ignore.
What's awful to consider is that Jordan Silverman is (arguably) one of the "lucky" ones, in the sense that he was not wrongly convicted and incarcerated for a crime that never even happened in the first place. No crime wrongful convictions happen far more often then they should. I say this not to negate Mr. Silverman's suffering, but rather to highlight the need for more and better protections to avoid these "near misses" and the far too frequent wrongful convictions in cases where no crime occurred at all.
Thank you for this extraordinarily detailed and unblinking account. You've probably had your fill of "satanic ritual abuse" day-care cases, but I have to mention the last still-imprisoned victim of the panic: Junior Chandler, a day-care bus driver in rural Madison County NC, has been in prison since April 15, 1987. The Duke Wrongful Convictions Clinic is awaiting a response from the state after the NC Court of Appeals challenged a lower court's upholding Junior's conviction. I follow the case at littlerascalsdaycarecase.org
This is one of the most horrifying things I've ever read. On par with anything Steven King ever produced.
I don't know anything about Jordan Silverman. Never heard of him before this. What i do know is, whatever he did or didn't do, this story highlights how quickly an accusation can destroy someone. This entire article reads like it was written by Franz Kafka. Or, maybe Amanda Knox. If you don't have money, the system will bury you. If you do, you get to bury the system. Maybe. At least you have a fighting chance.
I don't have any answers, but that story is just frightening.
Thank you for making sure Silverman's experience enters the public record. Incredible reporting and a disturbing example of the "system's" destructive powers.
We should have a justice system that doesn't require the accused to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to feel comfortable that they're going to be treated fairly.
This makes me so, so sad -- for the ruined lives, for the maddening injustice implicit in the justice system, for the needless waste of time and money and effort in Silverman's attempts to restore his good name and stay in touch with his children. I remember such a case from my early legal assistant days -- different in degree but not in kind -- when a loving, kind person was falsely accused. That case ended with no charges filed as well, but the mortification and suffering the person endured never left them.
Thank you, Radley, for this deep reporting. Hair-raising, and necessary.
Radley Balko’s story is powerful and essential — but it still pulls its punches. The real engine behind this moral catastrophe wasn’t "the system" or "groupthink" in the abstract. It was Robert and Alison: a high-status couple with the power to define a narrative and impose it through sheer social force.
They were not faceless parents caught up in tragedy. They initiated the accusations, spread them socially, confronted Silverman in public, and maintained pressure on institutions, journalists, and other families to align with their suspicions — even in the face of zero evidence, multiple retractions, and three separate law enforcement agencies explicitly clearing the accused. If they had not done what they did, none of the rest would have happened. They should no longer enjoy anonymity.
This is the Robert and Alison phenomenon:
> Affluent, connected actors hijack moral authority.
> Their social capital lends instant credibility to baseless claims.
> They become the unofficial prosecutors, the narrative framers, and the enforcers.
> And they suffer no accountability when lives are destroyed.
Silverman is right to be angry — not only because of what was done to him, but because there is no structure in place to stop it from happening again. That’s where reform must begin:
1. End automatic anonymity for adult accusers in civil or reputationally damaging cases, especially when the accused is publicly named and no charges are filed.
2. Raise evidentiary standards at agencies like CFSA, which should not be issuing “substantiated” findings without corroboration, especially after one-day investigations.
3. Create funded legal recourse and reputational remedies for the wrongly accused — including “reverse TROs,” (court orders that bar accusers or third parties from continuing to spread proven‑false allegations once an investigation has cleared the accused) expungement mechanisms, and public declarations of exoneration.
4. Rebuild a culture of reputational due process. Accusation is not guilt. Institutions and media must stop treating it as such.
Silverman wasn’t just cleared. He was hunted, harassed, vandalized, and impoverished for seven years — and finally vindicated only when CFSA quietly changed its ruling to “unfounded” on the eve of a hearing.
Balko does well to show how systems amplify harm. But until we look squarely at how individuals like Robert and Alison exploit their moral clout without oversight, this story will keep repeating. Not because the system fails — but because the status hierarchy works exactly as designed.
Thank you, Radley, for this extensive, heartfelt and damning article. A modern day witch hunt.
The kind of journalism now rarely seen, exhaustive and fair minded. As a grandparent of two granddaughters who has wiped both their respective bottoms at appropriate moments, I can see how easy it would be to view innocent interactions with toddlers as something more. Just upgraded my subscription to "founding" based on this writing.
Wow, clearly a well-researched case. An easy but lengthy read. I hope eventually Silverman can reconnect with his sons and he gets some semblance of justice after all that. Seems wholly unfair. All the best to him and his family.
Thank you,Radley for seeing this story all the way through to the end. Your fearless commitment to the truth is very commendable. Most of all I really appreciate your kindness and bringing Jordan’s story to the public. Thanks for believing in him. https://gofund.me/8269dcc2e
Radley rightly noted that Michael Dolce of Cohen Milstein — the attorney who repeatedly attacked Jordan in the media — was later indicted and sentenced to prison. For anyone interested, here’s the Department of Justice’s official release:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/palm-beach-gardens-attorney-sentenced-prison-possessing-child-pornography
It’s understandable that Radley kept the focus on Jordan himself, but there’s another detail that adds important context. Jordan’s ex-wife, Alisa Silverman, who kept dragging him back into court until he was financially depleted and was forced to give up Parental Rights, later settled with the Department of Justice for $1.6 million after defrauding federal programs meant to help disabled veterans, minority contractors, and women-owned small businesses.
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/paragon-systems-agrees-pay-52m-resolve-false-claims-act-allegations-concerning-fraudulently
https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/praetorian-shield-and-two-individuals-agree-pay-221000-resolve-false-claims-act
While it can’t be proven where the funds fueling years of litigation came from, the timing and circumstances certainly make the connection hard to ignore.
What's awful to consider is that Jordan Silverman is (arguably) one of the "lucky" ones, in the sense that he was not wrongly convicted and incarcerated for a crime that never even happened in the first place. No crime wrongful convictions happen far more often then they should. I say this not to negate Mr. Silverman's suffering, but rather to highlight the need for more and better protections to avoid these "near misses" and the far too frequent wrongful convictions in cases where no crime occurred at all.
Thank you for this extraordinarily detailed and unblinking account. You've probably had your fill of "satanic ritual abuse" day-care cases, but I have to mention the last still-imprisoned victim of the panic: Junior Chandler, a day-care bus driver in rural Madison County NC, has been in prison since April 15, 1987. The Duke Wrongful Convictions Clinic is awaiting a response from the state after the NC Court of Appeals challenged a lower court's upholding Junior's conviction. I follow the case at littlerascalsdaycarecase.org
This is one of the most horrifying things I've ever read. On par with anything Steven King ever produced.
I don't know anything about Jordan Silverman. Never heard of him before this. What i do know is, whatever he did or didn't do, this story highlights how quickly an accusation can destroy someone. This entire article reads like it was written by Franz Kafka. Or, maybe Amanda Knox. If you don't have money, the system will bury you. If you do, you get to bury the system. Maybe. At least you have a fighting chance.
I don't have any answers, but that story is just frightening.
Thank you for making sure Silverman's experience enters the public record. Incredible reporting and a disturbing example of the "system's" destructive powers.
We should have a justice system that doesn't require the accused to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to feel comfortable that they're going to be treated fairly.
This makes me so, so sad -- for the ruined lives, for the maddening injustice implicit in the justice system, for the needless waste of time and money and effort in Silverman's attempts to restore his good name and stay in touch with his children. I remember such a case from my early legal assistant days -- different in degree but not in kind -- when a loving, kind person was falsely accused. That case ended with no charges filed as well, but the mortification and suffering the person endured never left them.
Thank you, Radley, for this deep reporting. Hair-raising, and necessary.