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Throughout the past two decades, a pediatrician in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley Health Network has faced lawsuits for falsely diagnosing child abuse. Despite child abuse being underreported, this pediatrician’s consistent misdiagnoses of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, a mental illness in which caregivers fabricate or induce symptoms of an illness in their child, have cost innocent parents custody of their children.
One of West Chester University’s renowned English faculty members, Professor Dyan Neary, is an investigative journalist who covered this case on the true crime podcast “Serial.” The Quad was honored to interview her on Oct. 30, 2025, the date of the public launch of the three-part “Serial” miniseries, “The Preventionist.”
Investigative Journalism
As an undergraduate English major at New York University, Neary knew she wanted to be a writer from a young age. However, she was more interested in creative writing than the literary criticism most of her classes focused on. That all changed with her Media in America class, which focused on gaps in the majority of media where lesser-known stories were ignored. Ultimately sparking her interest in investigative journalism, Neary “knew that [she] wanted to do something that could have a social impact – that could make a change in the world in some way.” By combining her interests in creative writing and journalism, she was able to pursue long-form investigative stories.
Podcast Recording Process
In 2023, a producer from “Serial” discovered Neary’s “What Happened to Maya?” story in the New York Magazine. Focusing on false child abuse accusations, the story gained traction from numerous families, all of whom reached out to Neary. What particularly stood out to her were reports from numerous families in Allentown, PA, all of whom were affected by what Episode 2 describes as “false allegations” from the same doctor, Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen. As Neary began investigating these cases, the “Serial” producer reached out to Neary in July, 2023. After sending a pitch, the development process ensued, and the recording process began after the show went under contract.
With podcasts as detail-oriented as “Serial,” a great amount of attention and care is required for each case. It might be surprising to learn that “The Preventionist” wrapped up recording in Oct. 2025, having only started in Aug. 2025. Though the podcast recording process was rapidly induced, the interview process spanned from 2023 to 2025, ultimately demonstrating the thoroughness of Neary’s research.
An Unforgettable Case
As briefly mentioned in “The Preventionist, Episode 2: The CAP Will See You Now,” Neary recounted one case she can’t forget about, despite being unable to speak with the family. In her interview with The Quad, she emphasized that in a New York medical record, “the parents were accused of child abuse,” but their baby ended up having a heart defect. Parents rushing their child to the ER for underlying health issues and then being accused of child abuse becomes an underlying theme in the podcast. However, Neary explained that “by the time they found that out, the parents had already been accused of child abuse, and so they weren’t able to be at the child’s bedside when he died in the hospital.”
If these words aren’t spine-chilling enough, Neary provides further context on the case. “They brought him into the hospital, seeking help. They were accused of abuse, and then he ended up passing away from something that appears to be unrelated to abuse or anything the parents had done.”
Essentially, not only was the heart defect initially ignored and dismissed as abuse, but one doctor’s interpretation cost these parents a crucial moment with their son, which puts the severity of these misdiagnoses into perspective.
Trusting Medical Professionals after Experiencing Misdiagnoses
In her interview with The Quad, Neary stressed how “It’s a tough line to navigate because you don’t want to let genuine abuse get ignored.” She further emphasized her “enormous respect for medical professionals,” highlighting how she “think[s] they save lives every day.” She further reflects, “Child abuse pediatricians save lives every day because they do see a lot of genuine abuse that I know that they prevent.”
A particularly haunting fact Neary noted was that “We would show the same medical records to different doctors, and they would come away with different conclusions.” In a world where medical gaslighting is undeniably real, facts like these portray the true horror of medical uncertainty, both with underdiagnosing and overdiagnosing various issues.
The Aftermath of Dr. Jenssen’s Misdiagnoses
In the same interview with The Quad, Neary expressed her opinion of Dr. Jenssen not facing any true legal consequences.
“We have documentation that she was removed from her position as Head of the Child Protection Team in Florida, but then she just got the job in Lehigh Valley,” Neary remarks. “There weren’t too many professional consequences… and certainly no criminal consequences. It was just lawsuits.”
Although she was removed from her position in Florida, Jenssen’s professional career has only advanced since then. For those unfamiliar with the idea of immunity, Neary explains that legally, all child abuse pediatricians (CAPs) and mandated reporters are protected by immunity because “You don’t want people being afraid of the consequences of reporting if they genuinely think that abuse is happening.” Essentially, for the sake of caution, Neary explains that “If something turns out to be a false report, unless you reported it knowingly that it was false… you’re immune from liability because they don’t want to discourage people from making a report that could harm children.”
Advice for Prospective Investigative Journalists
When The Quad asked her if she’d recommend investigating underreported vs. overreported journalistic issues, Neary said, “My advice would be [to] find an issue that really speaks to you… that you just already find yourself reading about…then, try to learn a lot about that thing. Talk to as many people as you can. People will talk and actually want to tell you stories.”
Neary stresses the importance of finding underreported issues with the potential to make a difference. Not only are these issues more likely to advance one’s journalistic career, but one is also more likely to make a difference with something under-reported. First, Neary recommends taking a broad topic, such as climate change, and asking around about it, especially locally. She explains that if one is interested in sustainability, ask oneself, “What’s going on locally with ecology and sustainability? Who can I talk to at my university who specializes in this?” By forging connections with professors, individuals might learn about local underreported stories, which could lead to Town Hall meetings, resulting in potential interviews, etc. As the cycle goes on, it’s possible to succeed as a journalist in this day and age, despite the notorious stereotypes of journalists being overworked and underpaid. She also explained that local issues can get picked up by national media. “The Philadelphia Inquirer,” for example, can pick up local stories.
Ultimately, Neary is an example of someone who relentlessly pursued her passions and worked her way up to making a profound difference in others’ lives.
Charlotte Ruth is a third-year English major with minors in Creative Writing and Italian Studies.