Well, I wouldn't say that I witnessed the event (else the offender would be either dead or incarcerated), but someone I knew was being sexually abused by her stepfather. The victim was 13, for reference.

Without going into unnecessary (and rather disturbing) detail, the evidence against the stepfather was incontrovertible. Until the girl's mother coerced her daughter into going to the police and admitting that she made the entire story up for attention. The case was dropped, and the victim was labeled a "troublemaker" who wasn't to be trusted.

That's the official story that everyone that wasn't involved got to hear. Here's what it looked like from my angle...

A guy (Jack) met a woman (Jill) who already had two kids - a Son (10) and a Daughter (13). Jack was an engineer who made quite a lot of money, while Jill was making minimum wage. So for Jill, this was quite a change for her financial situation. So when Daughter tells her school counselor that she's being molested by Jack while Jill is at work (they worked opposing shifts), Jill suddenly has a dilemma. Who does she protect? Her daughter or her meal ticket?

Well, Jill didn't have to think on it for very long. After a "calm discussion" with Daughter, suddenly Daughter admits to being a liar. And, strangely, suddenly Son needs to go live with his father. And Jack decides that he's done having children, and he urgently needs a vasectomy. All of this took place within a month.

Everyone in town saw a family with a problematic child. I saw a sexual predator living a sexual predator's fantasy - unrestricted access to a victim that (quite reasonably) believes that they are helpless, and he even gets to hit it raw.

Jack enjoyed this arrangement until Daughter moved out, and died without ever facing any repercussions.