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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    6

    Default False Report of Child Tied by Rope

    My question involves child abuse or neglect in the State of: NJ

    After a disagreement on a general topic, my fiance got angry on me and somehow put some red marks on our 2 yr old daughter's ankles and went to police and complained that I tie her hands and feet daily 3-5 times for the last 3 months and also alleged domestic violence against me. Police and DYFS showed up at my place but didnt find any rope as was alleged by my fiance. I was arrested for DV that day and DYFS took pictures of the child's ankles and have dragged me to the court. They found some red marks ONLY on the front of the ankles and nothing on the back (showing clearly that my fiance has simply did something to the front of the child's ankles). DYFS didnt find anything on the child's arms. They have no other witnesses, just one hearsay statement from my fiance saying it was me who did it. The 2 yr old cannot speak properly hence cannot testify. Moreover the child on that day was wearing shoes without any socks, so the marks could very well be from it but am not sure how my fiance put those marks on the 2 yr old child. Remember, DYFS never got any medical examination for the child. My fiance didnt pursue the DV case as she realized she shouldnt have gone to this extreme for a normal disagreement that we had. She even told DYFS that she had lied about the child abuse but they have threatened her that now its too late for her and that if she retracts her statement, they will take the child away from her.

    My question is:
    (a) can I hire an expert who can look at those pictures clicked by DYFS and highlight the inconsitenceies in them (no marks on back of ankle). Where can I find these experts and how much do they charge approximately?

    (b) What are the chances I can win this case against DYFS, given that its just a hearsay statement of my fiance and no other evidences.

  2. #2

    Default Re: False Report of Child Tied by Rope

    They may take the child away from her regardless. If she admits to marking the child, she'll lose the child for abuse (hurting your own child as a ploy to make life suck for your significant other is a huge red flag for later possibilites of abuse, up to and including homicide). Nothing in an assessment screams DANGER like a mother willing to injure her own child to serve her own interests. If she stands by her claim that the child has been repeatedly tied up by you over a course of months, they'll either take the child away for her failure to protect the child or only let the child stay with her if you (as the supposed abuser) are out of the picture. CPS has a child with marks, and that means that either the child needs to be protected from you, or the child needs to be protected from her. Either way, I don't like the odds of CPS leaving this child under her care and things returning to status quo with all of you living happily ever after under the same roof.

    Testimony of a forensics expert won't be half as helpful as testimony from a qualified child psychologist specially trained to evaluate suspected abuse. They CAN communicate with a 2 year old, even one who can't speak properly. Even a forensics expert can only possibly say how the marks might have been made - which won't help determine WHO made them. That needs to come from the child if it's to have much bearing on the investigation. Contact your local child abuse organizations for a referral to a qualified child interviewer in your area (if you're not sure who to call, start with your local domestic violence program, they usually have such specialists on their speed dial).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: False Report of Child Tied by Rope

    Thanks aardvarc for the prompt response. The only problem I see with your suggestion of using a qualified child psychologist is that the 2 yr old doesnt speak English. She speaks a foreign language and only now has started speaking very little English.
    Moreover, since the mother has had the custody of the child for the last few months, she could easily *coach* the child and the 2 yr old will just repet whatever she was told. So am not sure if it would be really helpful.

    Do you still think the photo expert would be helpful or that would be a waste of money.

    As mentioned in my previous post, my fiance even told DYFS that she had lied about the child abuse but they are not listening to her now. So if she tells the court that she had lied that day as she was angry, would that be meaningful or DYFS would still keep dragging the case or she would be tried for perjury. As said, they didnt find any evidence when they came to my house nor do that have witnesses except for her statement, which she has already told them was a lie but to drag the case further, they are exclusing this statement of hers.

  4. #4

    Default Re: False Report of Child Tied by Rope

    Quote Quoting pegassist
    View Post
    Thanks aardvarc for the prompt response. The only problem I see with your suggestion of using a qualified child psychologist is that the 2 yr old doesnt speak English. She speaks a foreign language and only now has started speaking very little English.
    Moreover, since the mother has had the custody of the child for the last few months, she could easily *coach* the child and the 2 yr old will just repet whatever she was told. So am not sure if it would be really helpful.
    Again, professionals trained to work with abused children are well aware of the coaching tactics used by such parents. Stop back seat driving and let the professionals who do this for a living do what they do. There are lots of qualified evaluators who speak multiple languages, but the child in question is two years old - so delay in getting an evaluation could shoot the whole thing down (two year olds don't have great memory skills, particularly if the mother is interfering). If this is your child, get her to someone asap.


    Do you still think the photo expert would be helpful or that would be a waste of money.
    If you've got time and money to burn, by all means pursue this avenue. But it's not likely to garner you anything fruitful to help your cause. They'll only be able to state the very obvious: yep, the child has marks...and maybe add a comment about what sort of things could have caused those marks. This isn't an overly intricate forensic evidence case - just about anyone can look at the photo and come up with the same conclusions that you're itching to pay a professional for.

    As mentioned in my previous post, my fiance even told DYFS that she had lied about the child abuse but they are not listening to her now. So if she tells the court that she had lied that day as she was angry, would that be meaningful or DYFS would still keep dragging the case or she would be tried for perjury. As said, they didnt find any evidence when they came to my house nor do that have witnesses except for her statement, which she has already told them was a lie but to drag the case further, they are exclusing this statement of hers.
    This is the same dynamic seen in domestic violence cases. Even in cases where there actually IS abuse, real victims often suddenly change their story when they figure out that the consequences of their report include things like restraining orders (they want the abuser back), financial crisis (when the bread winner is behind bars or drowning in legal fees, or simply cuts the victim off for reporting them), and issues over losing their children.

    Because of this, authorities really actually expect most REAL victims to recant or change their story in order to "save" the abuser from going through the system and all of the associated fallout. People don't get it that calling the police or DYFS means serious business; and accusations of DV or child abuse are handled harshley. It's not just some little joke to piss off your partner for a night and have a cop shake a finger at them. As you've experienced, it has real, meaningful, and long lasting consequences. Once she made the report, both law enforcement/prosecution and DYFS are going to operate on that, even when she says she lied (because that's the basic dynamic).

    Fake victims who suddenly want to come clean end up facing two choices, neither of which they want: either they try to say they lied and aren't believed and the case moves forward (typical), or, they stick with their story and everyone (both the faker and the falsely accused) gets to deal with the legal fallout. For her, in order to "save" you, she basically has to say the SHE was the one who inflicted the injuries - which will almost ensure removal of the child.

    The big kicker in this case is that she didn't JUST lie because she was angry...according to your version of events, she INJURED the child because she was angry. Her credibility with authorities is already in the toilet. Work with your attorney to protect not only YOUR credibility (which can really only be helped by an evaluation of the child) but also the safety of the child in question.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    6

    Default Re: False Report of Child Tied by Rope

    Thanks aardvarc for your valuable suggestions. Can you let me know where I can find qualified child psychologist's in NJ. Note that the alleged incident ocuured 5 months ago and the child has been living with my fiance since then.

    Note that DYFS knows that she has told them it was a lie and they have threatened her of serious consequences and are over-protecting her (say, they wont allow us to talk even in regards to the child though there is no restraining order).

    Also note that am not relying even 1% on my fiances recantation. She may or may not recant in the court as DYFS may not let her. Also her change in story may or may not be admissible in court and hence was looking for experts who can help strengthen my case.

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