DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN TRUE AND FALSE SEX-ABUSE ACCUSATIONS IN CHILD-CUSTODY DISPUTES

In recent years there has been a progressive increase in sex-abuse acc usations in the context of child-custody disputes. Some of these accus ations are valid and some are not. Because such an accusation can serv e as an extremely powerful vengeance and exclusionary maneuver, it has become particularly attractive to parents embroiled in such disputes. Differentiating between true and false sex-abuse accusations in such a setting may be extremely difficult. Presented here are some of the c riteria the author has found useful for making this differentiation. U tilization of these criteria require interviews with the child, the ac cuser, and the accused. Seventy differentiating criteria are presented divided among the three interviewees: 22 for the accused, 21 for the child, and 27 for the accuser.