
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, September 25, 1993                   TAG: 9309250145
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: New York Daily News
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                LENGTH: Short

DESPITE SUSPICIONS, WOODY ALLEN WON'T FACE ABUSE TRIAL

Woody Allen probably did sexually abuse his adopted daughter Dylan, a Connecticut prosecutor said Friday - but the actor and director won't be charged with a crime so the child can avoid the trauma of a trial.

Allen blasted the prosecutor's logic, fuming as he read a five-page statement proclaiming his innocence and outlining the "sleaze and deception" around the charges.

Mia Farrow, Allen's estranged lover, agreed with the Connecticut authorities. Her attorney said Farrow had "no interest in pursuing vengeance" by demanding a trial.

Allen, 58, was accused of sexually fondling Dylan, 8, in August 1992 in the attic of Farrow's Connecticut country home. Farrow, 48, asked authorities to investigate.

Litchfield County State's Attorney Frank Maco said he found "probable cause to believe a crime was committed," based on investigations conducted by his office and state police and a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing. Yet Maco decided to do nothing about it, citing his concern for the child.

"My decision should not be construed as condoning the conduct of Mr. Allen," he said.

Maco's comments outraged Allen. "Suddenly, after 14 months of brutalizing an innocent 7-year-old, using and manipulating her, subjecting her to endless indignities in a wheezing, salivating, desperate but unsuccessful attempt to fabricate a case, they now must wriggle like live bait to extricate themselves with some shred of credibility from a humiliating corner they are painted into," Allen said.

by CNB