Among many other states, Florida has taken a strong stance when it comes to protecting innocent children from being exposed to those who have been accused of sexually abusing them. In 2007, The Keeping Children Safe Act was adopted in the Florida legislative session and was intended to be utilized when a child’s parent, relative, or caregiver has been accused of any form of sexual abuse. The Act demands that until the matter can be presented in a court hearing, protective actions must be put in put in place to prevent the child from potentially being re-exposed to any further abuse.
At first glance, most individuals who care about children would quickly determine that this law is a very responsible way of preventing children from being exposed to their abusers, as it is clearly not in a child’s best interest to be continuously re-traumatized until the truth can be determined through investigations and court hearings.
But, what happens when there has been absolutely no abuse of any kind, nor has there ever been? What if the accusations have come from a relentless person who is willing to stop at NOTHING to destroy the bond and healthy relationship that exists between a parent and child? When this occurs, the result is a devastating attempt at parental alienation through false allegations of sexual abuse. There is almost nothing worse in family law divorce cases, primarily because the issue provokes so much emotion and fear in the professionals involved.
Bottom line: We don’t want to get it wrong, and generally speaking, professionals would rather be safe than sorry. .
As a consequence of this, once an accusation is made, even if it is completely false, section 39.0139 of the Florida Statutes initially restricts the court from ordering visitation or contact between the child and adult unless the visitation or contact occurs in a supervised visitation program that conforms to specified standards.
What is even more concerning though, is that there are additional rules established by the Keeping Children Safe Act, that are used by a handful of extremely unethical parents to even further prevent access between their child and their ex-spouse, and perhaps strengthen their position in a child custody dispute. To clarify, under certain circumstances, even supervised visitation sessions can be entirely suspended if certain information is presented to the court.
1. If any party or participant is told by the child, or has other firsthand knowledge that a person is attempting to influence the testimony of the child, the court shall immediately suspend visitation or other contact. The court shall then hold a hearing to determine if it is in the child’s best interest to resuming visits.
2. If a child is in therapy because of the allegations or convictions and the child’s therapist says the visitation or other contact is impeding the child’s therapeutic progress, the court shall hold a hearing within 7 business days to review the terms, conditions, or appropriateness of continued visitation or other contact.
Basically, when these allegations are made, a rebuttable or refutable “Presumption of Detriment” is created, and the accused is faced with the burden of defending his or herself, and their right for time with their child. In fact, the accused is essentially in a position where they are “guilty until proven innocent” and may have contact with the child ONLY after there is a hearing and an order by the Court allowing such to occur.
In situations where false allegations have been made, some parental alienators have learned to manipulate our well intending court system to facilitate their selfish goal of destroying the relationship between the child and other parent. Special attention must be given to this matter, and when professionals begin to identify multiple or excessive incidents of “unfounded” allegations of sexual abuse, it seems pertinent to motion the court or privately hire a highly specialized expert to assess for other signs of parental alienation or unnecessary Gatekeeping behaviors. Without this, the Keeping Children Safe Act and the associated rebuttable presumption of detriment will continue puts the falsely accused parent in a very vulnerable position, while also putting the child’s mental health at risk, by unnecessarily preventing parenting time with an otherwise healthy attachment figure.
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this is happening in New York State. This has happened to a dear friend and father.We are devastated. We are waiting for another court hearing and have not seen his 13 yesr old daughter since January 2.
I'm sorry to hear that Carolyn. You may want to recommend that he hire a mental health expert who specials in these issues to review his case and testify as his private expert, if warranted. I have had a couple NY cases and their laws about releasing raw data are very strict and far different than in FL, but it still may be worth a shot. He's welcome to call us, but there may also be someone near him that specializes in these type of work product reviews and rebuttal witness testimony.
Best of luck,
Dr. Tolbert
561-429-2140
I have been accused of this and don't understand how my ex spouse and a forensic psychologist say that I have done something when in fact i haven't. I have gotten a lawyer and will undergo any and all psychological test and lie detector test. The only thing that bothers me the most is that people use this for personal gain. It make a mockery of abused children.
It's one of the most devastating allegations a parent can face. I am sorry to hear about your situation. Are you in Florida, or another state?
Dr. Tolbert we need more professionals like you that actually believe PAS exists. Trust me, I know all too well that it does but the way you fight it is with the best expert you can find that cannot be impeached no matter what. Since we cannot bring back Dr. Gardner who coined the word parental alienation, we must hire someone just as good as he was. Unfortunately, you will have to spend tens of thousands of dollars and the therapists that your child is seeing while you cannot see him are the biggest "cheerleaders' for the alienating parent who is the real abuser in every way, taking the child's right to love the parent away from them. This is real and it should have a cpt code attached to it. I love your work and appreciate your knowledge.
Dr. Tolbert, my situation is similar in nature to the PAS except it has occurred with a grandchild accusing my husband of sexual abuse. The accusation suddenly without warning, with a previously healthy relationship between my husband and granddaughter. We had even taken camping trips and other outings with her just before these allegations were made.The problem may have originated with my ex husband who has an extensive history of DV and has always expressed his hatred of my husband to all of our children and then when my granddaughter came along he started all of this with her as well. The allegations were made after she had spent several nights with my ex-husband this past summer. The attorneys we have hired both believe that this may have been the source of the allegations but unfortunately the state is involved and we are now in a legal battle to get to the bottom of what really happened. I appreciate your knowledge of Florida law, any insight you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
This also happened to my family. However, children are disabled and have communication deficits. DCF created false evidence and did not follow their own legal procedures. The emotional harm and separation caused a permanent rift with the parent who made the false allegation. Court did not charge parent and the financial harm to our family has caused long term financial hardship and children will never recover emotionally from the incident.
Please feel free to email me to ensure your information remains off of the internet.
Dr. Kristin Tolbert
Drktolbert@gmail.com
Richard Gardener was a sick and twisted individual. He loathed women and referred to them with the "C" word, almost exclusively. PAS is based on his belief that we all have sexual desires for children and that children are the ones who seduce the parents. He committed suicide, with a steak knife, probably the greatest act of his life. Research this.
this is exactly what just happened to my husband and his kids that he had custody of. This is such a fucked up thing to do to someone. I wish we would actually have a good lawyer to help in our case instead of being ignored and not doing anything to fight for what's right!
The Judge in my case actually wrote in his Final Order their existed Parental Alienation by both parties; I was shocked as this goes against every definition and all the research I have done. The judge also gave the Primary Time Share to the mother (who had battered me in 2017, ran me over with her car, and filed DV charges on me, as well as Stalking. She also enlisted her mother, the grandmother, and I was trespassed at a visitation Transfer, but not until after the grandmothers paramour pulled a gun. I have also not gotten the 20% over the past almost four (4) yeas now, I have been demolished and bankrupted by the DOR, and I have no hope left...
I am so sorry to hear about your case Aaron. It is frightening how fast things can spiral out of control if you have the wrong professionals on board who are not properly trained or experienced in managing these kind of dynamics. How old is your child and what state are you in? I would like to try and at least help point you in the right direction if possible!
I know you mentioned feeling pretty hopeless right now, so it says a lot that you are still up reading, researching, and sharing your experiences - all out of the love you have for your kiddo(s)!
Dr. Tolbert
561-429-2140