Although we all like to believe that anyone accused of a crime has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a court of law, that isn’t necessarily true. Certain crimes, especially those which allege sexual abuse, molestation or battery, carry a different presumption; guilty until proven innocent, although lawmakers emphatically deny that is the case. In Virginia, police, prosecutors and politicians have made locking up  alleged sexual offenders a statewide priority, according to a recent article in the Hampton Roads Daily Press. Unfortunately, such zeal has created tremendous harm in some cases, in the form of false allegations of sexual abuse made against innocent people, one of whom is a very good friend. 

Consider the following scenario: a parent, angry at an ex-spouse, one or both of her parents, or anyone else for that matter, makes a false allegation of sexual abuse, stating that their child has been either physically or sexually abused. This parent calls the police, child protective services, or both to initiate the "investigative" process. The detective or police officer taking the report takes the accusation at face value and declines to investigate further, firmly convinced that not only has a "crime" been committed, but the person accused has committed said "crime."

It doesn't take much after that for a falsely accused person to be charged, arrested and incarcerated, especially if the accused doesn't have the funds to hire a private attorney. Interviews with the child witness are usually not recorded, although they are supposed to be, and are not made available to the accused or his defense attorney to challenge as "evidence". Thus, a person who is completely innocent of any wrongdoing can be sent to jail simply because an accuser's lie was accepted without question or investigation.

False allegations of sexual abuse have risen dramatically over the last ten years, not just in Virginia but across the United States, with innocent people being wrongly arrested, tried and convicted. Although it more commonly occurs in divorce and custody cases, where one parent purposely makes a false allegation against the other for personal gain, accusations have also been made against family members, teachers, and other members of society, often with terrible and tragic consequences.

What Can Be Done?

The question we must answer is; what can be done to prevent these gross miscarriages of justice from occurring? As the law stands now, anyone can be falsely accused of a sex crime, have his or her life virtually destroyed, yet there is no criminal penalty for the person who knowingly, purposely and maliciously makes a false allegation of physical or sexual abuse of a minor. Anyone who deliberately makes a false allegation of sexual abuse against another is purposely using the criminal justice system to commit the most violent form of abuse short of murder, so why are these false accusers not held accountable by law?

If it became a Class A or B felony to knowingly make a false allegation of sexual or physical abuse, if it could be proven that a person acted intentionally to cause bodily or emotional harm to the person falsely accused by making an allegation that sends the accused to jail, the occurrences of deliberate false allegations could be significantly reduced in a short time. No one wants to risk ending up in jail or prison themselves, especially if the penalty is at least a five-year prison term, simply to satisfy a personal grudge or grievance.