Making false accusations in a family lawsuit is a criminal offense if the declarant knew at the time he or she made the declaration that the accusation was not true (art. 188 of the Dutch Crinimal Code). In practice, reporting that someone has made a false declaration rarely leads to prosecution or conviction. The mere fact that an acquittal followed did not mean that there was a false declaration. It is very difficult for a prosecutor to get the evidence and ask for a conviction for making a false report.
Criminal conviction
If there is a conviction for the false declaration, the amount of the penalty depends, among other things, on the consequences of the false declaration. Was the suspect in custody or other serious damage? Has the contact between the suspect and the children been stopped?
Parental alienation
A false declaration is often part of a larger battle, for example between ex-partners who argue about the children. The false declaration can then be related to, for example:
– libel and slander
– incorrect information provided by a rescuers
– not cooperating with visitation arrangement
– withdrawal from authority
– child abduction
– parental alienation
– influencing witnesses (the children.
What can you do if you are dealing with false accusations?
The parent who makes a false accusation will do so to rescuers, with the aim of using them to achieve his or her goal: to minimize the role of the other parent.
The accused parent can do the following:
– correctly inform the care providers
– reporting false declaration
– send a summons
– start civil proceedings to stop defamation and slander
– ask for a penalty
– ask for a special curator or investigation by the Child Protection Board to see whether what the declarant says and thinks is supported by the children themselves
– ask for a placement of the children out of home, if there is parental alienation, so that the children are no longer affected negatively
– Ask for the primary residence of the children, so that the children are no longer affected negatively
– Requests for extensive medical and psychological research of the children into abuse and / or abuse.
Act fast
Making a false or very implausible charge is a serious threat to the interests of the other parent and should ring all the alarm bells.
Action must be taken soon. The more time passes, the more the declarant can achieve what he or she wants. You have less or no contact with the children, the children are brainwashed and depending on the declarant. And aid workers and judges will think, “what if there is some truth in it?”.
Another risk is that care providers and judges think that the situation of influence (if one wants to assume that) has upset the minor so that he cannot suddenly be confronted with the parent who has been falsely accused.
If you are faced with false allegations, please contact our office to discuss your options.