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  1. #1
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    HELP! Someone very close to me has been accused of child abuse. What to do?

    She was accused of hitting a child at her place of employment. She works with troubled teenage boys. The accusation came from a co-worker who a; was not even there when this supposedly occurred and b; claims that the kid in question (who cannot speak and has limited non-verbal communication skills) told her that he was hit by the accused.

    The best part is that they have suspended her, opened a personal investigation, and have criminal charges pending. She is scheduled to give a statement to a DHS worker tomorrow. I have advised her to talk to nobody except an attorney. What else can be done? It seems as though this is a witch hunt based on vindictive behavior from a co-worker. Does anyone have experience with this? I don't know what else to tell her other than to not talk to the cops or the DHS workers or her employer.

  2. #2
    You wouldn't know that though because you've demonstrably never picked up a book nor educated yourself on the matter. Let me guess, overweight housewife?
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    Honestly? My sister went through something similar but at a public school and all I can say is she will need a good lawyer to get w/e money she can and be prepared to not work in that field anymore even if found innocent (if her current company lets her go).

    Shit sucks balls and sorry that happened to a friend of yours.

  3. #3
    Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
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    Invoke her right to legal counsel immediately when questioned, and ultimately just wait for the forensic interview of the child in question. Most states have people specifically trained to interview children and sniff out bullshit without leading the child into an answer. I see it happen all the time.

  4. #4
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    Thanks. Passed that along to her.

    Edit: Does she skip this interview with the case worker tomorrow? If the criminal charges turn out to not be true, how does she proceed with the personal investigation?

  5. #5
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    If she has a union, I'd call them up and request a union rep be present for the interview.

  6. #6
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    Can she have a lawyer at the interview tomorrow and would she able to find a good one in time?

  7. #7
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    Not a lawyer or anything, but if it was me personally, I wouldn't talk to anyone until advised by my own council to do so.

    Some peeps might advise that it makes you look guilty, but going there and being caught off-guard would be a lot worse.

  8. #8
    Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
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    She'd have every right to have a lawyer present for an interview. It'd be a waste of breath though since the whole point of any subject interview is to have them confess. Also, most states don't even allow the prosecution to mention whether or not the subject invoked for that very same reason in possibly making the panel/jury bias.

  9. #9
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    She works for near minimum-wage. She cannot hire an attorney. I told her to at least try for a phone consultation and I would pay the fee for her. From everything she says, this case has very little evidence to be threatening criminal charges. But she is the defendant so I have to take what she says at face value. This is stressful for me and I am not the one under the gun...

  10. #10
    Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
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    In my experience investigating child abuse cases unless there's physical evidence of an abuse and/or the child flat-out says they were abused, it goes nowhere. The complainant can say the child told her she was raped by purple dragons with spike dildos all orchestrated by the subject, unless the child makes any kind of disclosure to any personnel serving in an official capacity, DHS, CPS, or law enforcement, it's all hearsay.

  11. #11
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    I did tell her that the accusations coming from another staff member who was not even there was nothing but hearsay. That's good to have that confirmed.

  12. #12
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    Does she have a history of conflict on file with this staff member or has she ever mentioned arguing with them to you etc?

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Josiahkf View Post
    Does she have a history of conflict on file with this staff member or has she ever mentioned arguing with them to you etc?
    Without going into detail, The staff member was caught in a lie the day before this happened. There were forged signatures involved. Suddenly, one day later, my friend is under investigation....I told her to mention that conflict in the interview. There are other issues as well, like the fact that she was left alone with a behaviorally unstable boy for 3 hours while the rest of the staff took the other boys to an amusement park. Or The fact that the bruise they are trying to claim came from my friend hitting him was documented earlier in the day by my friend, long before she was alone with the kid.

    It just seems too far-fetched for there to be an investigation of her, the facility, and her boyfriend (because he lives with her) with criminal charges pending over nothing but hearsay from an employee with a very good motivation for lying about the abuse to get my friend in trouble. There has to be something else going on here...

  14. #14
    Shimmy shimmy ya shimmy yam shimmy ya
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    Nah, nothing else going on. Just like sexual assaults in the military, child abuse accusations stemming from care-giving facilities are more or less obligated to open an investigation. No matter how outlandish.

  15. #15
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    Good to know.

  16. #16
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    Uh well consult an actual lawyer. Don't throw away/destroy any things that could count as "evidence" even if it doesn't seem like a really big deal, something like that could potentially hurt a lot.

  17. #17
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    I had a job when I was younger, where I provided care to people with mental disabilities. The client I was working with at the time was pretty functional as far as social abilities, but couldn't handle most adult tasks. He has/d Prader-Willi syndrome. With that said, there was a lot of times I would have to intervene into a situation that would infringe on his freedom. During one particular time, the client got really angry and started hitting me with a couch pillow. Following MANDT protocol I obtained the pillow from him and used it to deescalate the situation. The next day I was called in to admin, suspended, and investigated for physical abuse. Knowing that I had nothing to worry about, I cooperated and understood their protocol for situations like this. Although I was reinstated, I always had the fear of a permanent mark because of someones false accusations, I ended up leaving that line of work. One thing that I saw a lot of however, was employee backstabbing and smearing of facts to get someone fired.

    I don't know your friend or the situation, but if she didn't hurt this person, and there is no eyewitness to back said claims. She really shouldn't be too worried. Everything her employers have done is protocol that they have to follow.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Acevalefor View Post
    Thanks. Passed that along to her.

    Edit: Does she skip this interview with the case worker tomorrow? If the criminal charges turn out to not be true, how does she proceed with the personal investigation?
    I'd probably show up to the interview, but before it even starts state something to the effect of "I'm being threatened with criminal charges so I won't answer any questions until I have an attorney present."

  19. #19
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    Were there no security cameras in the place of employment? Just look back at when and where this abuse allegedly happened if there is.

    Sucks to hear.

  20. #20
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    Someone mentioned it, but I didn't see the answer.

    Is she union? Sometimes a union will hire a lawyer to cover the employee.

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