How Police and Prosecutors Can Help

Police and prosecutors who want to do everything possible to prevent innocent persons from ending up in jail can begin taking steps as well. First, detectives who are called to investigate false allegations of sexual abuse of a minor must be careful about developing pre-conceived opinions before doing a thorough investigation to determine if in fact a crime has even been committed. Detectives and social services representatives who interview the child who claims to have been abused need to avoid the practice of asking leading and suggestive questions that will only "validate" a false allegation.

Instead, the child should be allowed the opportunity to provide free narrative, using his or her own words to describe what really occurred. Questions beginning with who, what, when, where, why and how will give a far more accurate account of what did happen – if anything – than constant leading questions such as "where did [accused] touch you." Children cannot provide accurate details on events that never took place. Care must be taken to avoid treating child accusers as "victims" before an investigation has even begun, let alone concluded.

As a parent, I applaud Virginia's commitment to lock up sex offenders for crimes against children. Yet as a citizen, I strongly urge police, prosecutors and judges to exercise extreme caution, to make sure that our rights to due process of law and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty aren't sacrificed at the altar of politics. Do we really want to lock up the innocent along with the guilty?

If all it takes for a person to be charged, arrested and very possibly convicted is a false accusation by a person determined to satisfy a personal grudge or agenda, with no real facts or evidence to back it up, then we may as well dust off the rack, the scaffold and the guillotine. For we will then be back to the terrifying days of the Inquisition, the Salem Witch Trials, and the Reign of Terror following the French Revolution. Somehow, I don't think that's what Governor Mark Warner and Governor-Elect Tim Kaine had in mind when they promised to "keep Virginia moving forward."