Although you have done nothing wrong... this can happen to you... These are actual real-life events experienced by thousands of honest, law-abiding people falsely accused of committing a crime on almost no evidence or without reliable witnesses, or both. Social respect and community status are no protection against a criminal investigation or social services invasion into your life. Law-abiding people like you are invaded or convicted on the word of a victim who either holds a grudge against you, or else accuses you while barely knowing you, because substantial financial compensation is quickly paid out to victims whether you are proved guilty or not. In the UK today you can be accused of abuse on almost no evidence and without any proper witnesses to support the story: you are likely to be told that you are just meeting pleasant people for a little chat - but without you realising it this is actually an important meeting that affects your whole future as a family and you would be wise to get help to handle it safely; you are likely to be given no information on how this situation works, on what is expected of you, or about what you can do to help yourself or your child, or what the authorities can do to you or your child; you may not be told what the actual accusation is that you face; you are very unlikely to be given any contacts to get information and support; the people investigating the case routinely assume you are guilty and treat you accordingly; some of them seem friendly and persuade you to trust them because they say they want to help you but then they use anything you say or do to make it look as if you are guilty; your child or children might be interviewed completely alone without anyone they know and trust to support them, and asked many questions about this story of your supposed abuse; if you or your family become distressed about any of this it is taken as a sign you are emotionally unstable and this can be used against you; but if you show no distressed reaction you can be classified as cold and this can be used against you; the strain of child protection intruding into your family can make you depressed or ill for a long time, or push you into debt, and therefore unable to provide your child with the protection and love you usually give them; the record made can be full of mistakes that make you look bad but even if you taped the meeting/s and try to insist on corrections the mistakes are rarely corrected; you can be arrested in your own home in front of your family and in full view of your friends and neighbours, held in a police cell, interviewed under caution, charged and called to appear in court; you can lose your job and not get another as good, or any work at all, for years; you can be forced to go away and stop seeing your children even if you are not formally charged of a crime; your partner, friends or neighbours can disconnect from you, or become strained and reluctant to let their children see yours, because it is known you are likely to be a dubious person; the court that deals with you can be held in complete secrecy: no records are made, and you are legally forbidden to speak of it to anyone to get support or advice, or show them the appalling things stated about you (except your solicitor). You may not even talk to your family and this continues forever after; alternatively your photograph, name and address might appear in the local and national press and on TV, insinuating what an evil monster you are; your house, car and family can be attacked by people angered by the publicity about you; your children can be taken away from you - and quickly adopted into another family; you can be convicted without proof, evidence, witnesses or corroboration and live for years in prison; your case is never finally closed down and you live for ever after under suspicion by the authorities; any other child you have now or laterwill be at risk of the same treatment and may be removed from you. This can happen to you even if you have done nothing wrong.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 00:07:22 +0000