THIS disturbing documentary throws up all kinds of questions about how we deal with children's allegations of sexual abuse. In Michigan in 1990 Stephen Matthews was accused of sexually abusing his five-year-old son. Stephen's father and mother were also accused.

The case against the boy's grandmother was soon dropped but Stephen and Melvin Matthews were convicted and jailed. There was no physical evidence that the boy had been abused. A test for sexually transmitted diseases was used to convince the jury the men were guilty. The tests were later shown to be flawed. The police questioning of the boy was later shown to be "unsound". These two factors led to the men's subsequent acquittal.

This is about more than a miscarriage of justice though. The film questions society's willingness to believe the child. Have we become so paranoid about missing signs of sexual abuse that we judge on emotion rather than on facts?

Stephen was gay - did that contribute to the jury accepting the allegations? What role did the boy's mother and her new partner play? Was he coached by someone? How could the police use such leading questions when interviewing a five year old child?

The time period of the story covers ten years from the initial allegation to the final acquittal and viewed with hindsight it's astonishing. At times it becomes so ridiculous it's almost hard to believe it's real. Hearing a prosecutor ask a child "How many times did he stick the machete up your butt?" sounds like a line from South Park.

A chilling story of shattered lives, it throws up more questions than answers.

As one child abuse expert points out, "With 240 million people in America and 3 million accusations of child sex abuse every year soon everyone will be affected in some way."