11 Aug False Accusations
False accusations, or false reporting, may seem far fetched at times but they do happen and can be particularly damaging to you and your family. Unfortunately, accusations that are falsified happen more regularly than they should. Coolidge Law serves the metro Phoenix area (Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale) and has encountered the devastating consequences of false accusations. Let’s look more into some false accusations.
False Allegations of Domestic Violence
An all too relevant issue in the United States is domestic violence. False allegations of domestic violence occur much too often. Domestic violence encompasses aggressive behaviors that happens within one’s own home; usually involving violent abuse of a spouse or partner. These actions are laced with fear, intimidation, and immense aggression leaving people afraid to speak out or charge the abuser.
Due to the hostile and volatile aspects that can be involved around domestic violence, it can be difficult for law enforcement and the legal system to ascertain for sure whether the abuse actually occurred. While it is imperative for those being domestically abused to come forward and speak out, there are situations of wrongful allegations. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments has found, through evidence-based research, that nearly 700,000 wrongful convictions of domestic violence happen each year.
False Allegations of Sexual Abuse
A crime of sexual abuse is a crime of passion, control, and violence. According to the American Psychological Association, sexual abuse includes behaviors of intimidation, threats, and use of force for unwanted sexual activity. While this is a crime that occurs to an American every 98 seconds, there is a rate of false reporting with sexual violence. Within child sexual abuse, it was found by The Leadership Council (2005) that 1% of claims were found to be non substantial and fictitious. While it has a low rate of false reports, there are still massive consequences for any individual being convicted and thus the consequences for anyone who is falsely reported can devastating.
False Reporting Charges
False reporting of domestic violence, sexual assault, fire, offense, bombing, or other types of emergencies occur when someone has the intent to create chaos whilst having full knowledge that the emergency is not happening. False reports can put individuals and law enforcement in dangerous situations and can be incredibly damaging for the individual accused. If an individual is accused of a crime, such as assault, with knowledge of it never happening and is found to be unfounded, it can still destroy the person’s life socially, personally, and professionally. False reporting is charged as a class one misdemeanor in Arizona. The sentencing of the crime includes probation with no jail time or up to six months in jail with a fine of up to $2,500.
False reporting is a serious crime with long term damages. Contact Coolidge Law today as a defense attorney to learn more about false accusations and the consequences of such.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (12/10/24). Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash.