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In this region, nearly half of all reports of child abuse are found to be groundless, but prosecuting bogus claims is difficult.
By JIM ROSS
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 16, 2001
Child abuse and neglect are serious offenses, and the people who investigate suspected cases recognize the importance of their work.
So of all the frustrations they face, one is particularly galling: Some tips are downright false.
Maybe a man is trying to get his former wife in trouble, or vice versa. Maybe a jealous mother wants to strike out at a family acquaintance who has befriended her child.
Whatever the motive, all the malicious person need do is dial the state's toll-free hotline and say the right words.
Within 24 hours, probably sooner, the victim will find a social worker and law enforcement officer at his or her front door.
"I think it's a problem," said Patrick Howard, top officer for the Department of Children and Families' District 13, whose five-county jurisdiction includes Citrus.
"It becomes an issue of time and effort," he said. "It's just like a false alarm would be for the fire department."
Children and Families employs the social workers who investigate possible abuse and neglect. Those workers decide whether to remove children from a home, whether to initiate action in family court and so on.
The law enforcement officers come from whatever agency has geographic jurisdiction. The officer decides whether there is probable cause for arrest. Throughout Citrus, a law enforcement officer accompanies social workers on all investigations.
Citrus County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Wyllie said he suspects about 20 percent of the calls his agency handles originate from people who deliberately file false claims of abuse and neglect.
But knowing something and proving it are two different things. That's why the number of people prosecuted for filing a false report is so relatively low.
The offense is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
Ric Ridgway, chief assistant to State Attorney Brad King, said his office receives many complaints of false reports. But prosecutions are rare because prosecutors must be able to prove the person who filed the complaint knew the information was false and acted with malice.
"The fact that they are mistaken doesn't make them guilty of this crime," Ridgway said.
In District 13 -- which also includes Hernando, Marion, Lake and Sumter counties -- 47 percent of the 8,766 reports were classified as having "no indication" of abuse or neglect. But officials hasten to add that some of those might come from well-meaning callers who simply are mistaken.
The cases of people who are prosecuted are so unusual that they make headlines. Such was the case last month in Marion County, when five teens were arrested and accused of filing false reports.
The teens said a boy was being forced to have sex with his stepfather and that another boy was being forced to have sex with his mother, according to news accounts. The cases remain pending.
Those are not typical cases of false reports. But Wyllie said people should realize that juveniles sometimes are the offending parties.
That's particularly true in Citrus County, where the Brown Schools facility and Cypress Creek Academy are a source of many disgruntled juveniles who see the abuse hotline as a weapon against staff members.
Brown provides residential treatment for emotionally disturbed youth. Cypress Creek is the juvenile justice system's version of a prison, a place where violent criminals serve their sentences.
Wyllie said the State Attorney's Office has prosecuted youngsters from both facilities for filing false reports. "We've gone out there and had a talk with the kids out there and told them it's against the law to make a false report," he said.
Overall, Wyllie said he is confident that prosecutors here are willing to pursue cases where appropriate. In Citrus last year, the state brought four or five such cases.
"Many counties have none at all," Wyllie said.
The issue is important because investigations of child abuse and neglect can be so time consuming for investigators and so wrenching for the alleged perpetrators. There is no such thing as giving a case a "cursory look."
The hotline is open to all callers. Operators send the complaints to Children and Families and, before long, social workers and law enforcement head out and ask questions.
Discretion is severely limited. "Once the report is cleared by them (hotline operators) and sent to us, we have to investigate every one of them," Howard said.
The alleged abuser has little choice but to answer the questions and submit themselves to investigation.
"The category that is most frustrating is custody battles," Howard said. "They end up using the children. We get to play Solomon and try to figure out who's telling the truth and who's stretching the truth."
If Children and Families or law officers suspect someone filed a false report -- or, in some cases, multiple false reports against the same person -- they will confront the reporter and explain the possible criminal and civil penalties.
Victims in such cases also may file a complaint with local law enforcement.
But "you have to know kind of beyond a shadow of a doubt that the person intended to lie about the incident," Howard said.
Howard and Ridgway also noted that state lawmakers, especially after the death of 6-year-old Kayla McKean in 1998, have encouraged more people to report suspected abuse and neglect. Kayla lived in Lake County, which is part of District 13, and her death prompted serious overhaul of Children and Families' procedures.
Since the state wants to encourage reporting, Children and Families and law enforcement are careful about accusing people of filing maliciously.
"If we think the person that made the report was well-intentioned and had a right to even suspect it (abuse) was going on, I don't think they would be prosecuted," Howard said.