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Why are Mothers at Risk for Losing Custody
of their Child
When They Knowingly Make False Allegations of Sexual Abuse?
There are times
when children say things to a parent that cause them great concern. Sometimes children may say things that
at face value are disturbing, but when pursued further are found to be false. This may be due to misinformation
or a misunderstanding on either the child's part or the person receiving the child's complaint. Sometimes a child
may relate information that would lead a parent to believe that the child may have been
inappropriately touched by
the other parent or another adult only to find out later that whatever interactions occurred were quite benign.
On the other hand, there are instances in which a child has been sexually interferred with. Consequently, anytime
a child reports something untoward that has happened to him or her, it must be investigated.
When a parent responds to a child's allegation about an alleged sexual misconduct based on genuine and
concern for the child, it is usually concluded that no malice is intended.
However, when false allegations of sexual abuse do not
follow a logical sequence of events and/or when the allegations occur within the context of marital strife or as a catalyst
to a custody dispute, then the underlying motivations need to be considered as an alternate hypothesis for explaining the
abuse.
Because knowingly making false
allegations of sexual abuse is not a benign action, the person making those allegations needs to be
held responsible. Apart from
the potentially serious consequence to the person falsely accused of sexual abuse such as a prison sentence, loss of a job, the expense
of a defense, losing custody and access to one's children and being placed on a sexual
offenders' list, the damage caused to a child being made to believe that he or she was sexually abused when
it never happened is now being seriously considered. In some jurisdictions, the court will remove children from
the custody of a parent who has made false allegations of sexual abuse against another parent when there is evidence
that the parent made the allegations with knowledge and intent.
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