Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

statue of limitation

My ex-stepdaughter who is 39 yrs old has accused me of molesting her and other family members about 30 years ago. This accusation is false and has been investigated by child services 3 different times, about every 10 years. The last time was today. Is there a statue of limitations and what recourse do I have to be protected of any future incidents?


Asked on 4/15/09, 12:59 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Brian Dinday Law Offices of Brian R. Dinday

Re: statue of limitation

You cannot stop someone from reporting an accusation of crime. No restraining order will do that. All I can suggest is to keep all paperwork from each investigation to show them the next time she does this at age 49. If it has occurred to you to sue her for slander and libel, that would only give her a larger, more formal forum (and a public one) to repeat her accusations. Not a good move, so I would not consider that. You might also get signed statements from the other people she says you molested, stating it never happened, but then I guess that CPS and the police already have those, or they would have charged you.

I don't pretend to know whether there is anything to these accusations, but I will note that there is an epidemic of false domestic violence and molest accusations out there. It is a popular way of "evening a score" or "getting" someone you don't like, because it's free; taxpayer money is used to "punish" the accused person, and there is never any consequence for making a false allegation.

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Answered on 4/15/09, 12:06 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: statue of limitation

Statute of limitations is long passed, as you know, and no one should be 'investigating' them any longer. There is nothing effective you can do to stop her allegations, except threaten litigation for slander, which is not a good option either. You do not want to be involved in litigation over this, no matter how strongly you feel about it.

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Answered on 4/15/09, 1:06 pm


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