Criminal-Defense Articles | False contentions of Sexual Abuse

Criminal-Defense Articles > False contentions of Sexual Abuse

False Contentions of Sexual Abuse

While sexual assaults on children are an undisputed ugly reality in our society, it has become increasingly evident over the last decade or two that false accusations of sexual assaults on children are also an ugly reality.

It is very seldom totally correct to say that a child is lying when making sexual abuse allegations. When false allegations make it into the protective services, the law enforcement, or the judicial fields, what has almost invariably happened is that a child's sexual gesture or activity, or a child's comment of answer (usually to leading questions) has been interpreted, exaggerated, distorted, or in some other way shaped into a sexual abuse statement by a series of individuals.
Writer A.A. Milne tells the story about Winnie the Pooh and Piglet going for a walk in the snow and discovering fresh tracks where they had been walking. They fearfully conclude that some threatening creature, perhaps a woozle, must be nearby and perhaps even following them. As they walk around in the snow, examining the tell-tale marks, they discover more and more tracks, and become more and more alarmed. This blind search goes on until they discover that the tracks are their own and that the terrifying woozles simply do not exist. Like Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, many parents and professionals involved in the alleged sexual abuse cases create tracks that they later attribute to the defendant.

Some powerful negative motive usually underlies the birth of a false sex abuse allegation, and often questionable (however pro-socially clothed) motives energize its flow through the governmental systems. At the entry point of a false allegation one almost always finds a parent who has questioned a child in indeterminate ways and often also exposed the child to powerful emotional messages.

This parent will then pass that exchange through her/his personal psychological filter (beliefs, memories, attitudes, resentments, fears) before delivering this filtered information to a law enforcement professional. This professional has the unique opportunity of detecting the false or doubtful nature of the allegations and stopping them. Unfortunately, too often this person also has the power to give the allegation life and elevate it to an official status.

When the later takes place, the accused ends up facing capital charges of sexual assault; once filed, these charges give the case a life of it's own. By the time discovery begins, several persons have interviewed; mental health professionals, protective services personnel, medical professionals, lay and/or attorney guardians. At this point, one frequently encounters a child who in a few months has acquired impressive intellectual and emotional sophistication in the rendering of sexual abuse allegations. One also often faces allegations that have grown in number of incidents, severity of incidents, and all kinds of aggravating concomitants.

It is here that a trained psychologist will draw upon the ever growing body of knowledge in the experience, to ascertain if there are "tracks" created by "Poohs" and "Piglets" of the case. With this type of professional assistance, true offenders will appropriately prosecuted, but the wrongly accused will not face an unwarranted prosecution.

Further reading resources

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