There were also many people in the "justice apparatus" (ie. the prosecutor, police, a GREAT many social workers of two dozen different organizations, schools, .

There were also many people in the "justice apparatus" (ie. the prosecutor, police, a GREAT many social workers of two dozen different organizations, schools, ...) that were intimately involved with this practice. They got away with it because they didn't get paid. But their "duty" is to "protect the interest of the children" (literally from the law). To say they utterly failed their duty is vastly understating what happened. Half a dozen children committed suicide because of them. Frankly, if that happened because of a private citizen ... they would have been dragged before the court on charges of murder and faced decades in prison. If all it takes is one bad actor (e.g. a more-and-more drunk elderly judge) to create this practice for 5 years, which then goes unpunished for another 10 years ... then we've lost all semblance of justice.