A false allegation of child sexual abuse, that results in a criminal charge, will normally end in either a plea or a trial. Many times an accused does plea because they are told that it is far better to accept a light sentence, or in some cases, even probation, rather than risk going to prison for years if found guilty by a jury. The problem with this is, I have never talked with anyone who accepted a plea and later, thought they made the right decision. Simply put, a plea, regardless of what it is called, is an admission of guilt and, regardless of the sentence involved, the accused needs to understand that they, most probably will be forced to register as a sex offender for the rest of their life. Obviously, that will have a strong influence on any future career possibilities.

If a plea is not offered by the prosecution, or if a plea is something that an accused would not accept, trial is the alternative and, in many cases, that poses a potentially dangerous situation. Allegations of child sexual abuse are not won by defending haphazardly, but by careful and meticulous planning. An accused will win or lose, long before they ever walk into a courtroom.

The key element in reaching an acquittal rests with the attorney who represents the accused. Two of the most important elements an accused should look for in an attorney are heart and the willingness to fight. Experience has proven the best attorney is one who has been in practice for 5 to 10 years, is not connected with a law firm and is attempting to establish a practice. Most people run out and get the "top" criminal attorney, but unfortunately, that could easily be someone who has been in practice for 20 years, has their practice built and is not going to be affected one way or the other if they lose.

A lawyer, connected with a firm, is normally paid a salary by the firm, so losing does not affect their income.

In most cases, a young lawyer, on their own and trying to establish a practice, will fight and will usually be receptive to any expert assistance they can get. An older attorney has an established method of doing things and that is exactly how they will do them. They are not interested in outside assistance.

One other factor that could be a problem is politics. A local lawyer may not want to "rock" the boat because they have to continue to practice long after the case for an accused ends.

False allegations of child sexual abuse are different than any other criminal case and, if handled in the same manner as any other criminal case, a conviction is almost a certainty. There is a great deal of emotion in these cases. An attorney must be able to properly examine a child witness, without having a jury believe they are beating up on the child. They must be forceful in assuring that they have all discovery. They must be able to attack a prosecutor, police officer, DSS worker, doctor, therapist or anyone else involved in the State's case and, believe me, that is not an easy task for a local attorney.

There are experts in false allegation cases. For example, there are two attorneys; one in Wisconsin and one in Florida who specialize in defending these cases. They are experts because they are willing to travel and defend clients all over the country. False allegation cases are, for all practical purposes, an epidemic, but they are not specific to one area. If I wanted to specialize in these cases and sat in Mississippi, I may see one, possibly two cases in a life time. I have gained expertise only because I have been willing to travel, defending these cases, since 1989. The point is, most local attorneys DO NOT have experience defending false allegations, regardless of what they my tell a client and, to properly defend a client, either they need experience or they need to associate with someone who does. That, on occasion, presents a problem, especially when the expert is not a lawyer. In many cases, an attorney is not interested in being told anything by someone other than another attorney.

A perfect example would be a case we just completed in Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the client was convicted on three of six indictments, but it certainly was not surprising. In that case, there were three young girls making allegations. One child, making an allegation is rough, but with three, a conviction is inevitable unless the jury is well educated. In that case, I prepared a list of issues for the local attorney to use in jury voir dire, the process of selecting a jury and a perfect opportunity for an attorney to educate a jury. One of the issues I had was a question, "Is anyone familiar with cases that have taken place around the country where allegations of sexual abuse were made by multiple children, seemingly with no connection to each other, where it was later discovered the allegations were false and that there had been a connection between the accusers?" I told the attorney that he could depend on the fact that the prosecutor would use closing arguments to tell the jury, "Ladies and gentlemen." "Here we have allegations, made by three girls, who do not know each other and, for that reason, the allegations must be true." That jury needed to be "educated" to the fact that there have been cases where "false" allegations have been made by multiple accusers. In short, the attorney did not use that question and also failed to cover many of the other issues I had provided because he wanted to do it his way. His way resulted in a conviction.

In another case, as we were picking a jury, I told the attorney there were two people I wanted to keep, a pediatrics nurse who had a great deal of experience in child abuse and a male social worker. To many, those two would represent a danger, but to me, they were a blessing. My client had been completely cleared of molesting his own young daughter and the allegations being made against him were from a step-daughter. If the nurse and the social worker knew that my client had been completely cleared by a "forensic investigation," that would mean a great deal to them that may not mean much to the average person. I also told the attorney I wanted them only if he intended showing that my client was proven innocent of the charges specific to his own daughter. As the trial unfolded, I watched as the attorney missed opportunity after opportunity to let that jury know the accused had been previously cleared of a sexual abuse allegation. My client was the last person to testify and, just before he got on the stand, I asked the attorney why he had not brought up the prior allegation and that fact the my client had been cleared. He said he was afraid to because he did not want the jury to know he had previously been accused. That was absurd. Thankfully, my client brought it out during his testimony and, just as suspected, the nurse and the social worker basically led that jury to acquittal.

Simply put, before going to trial, the accused should assure that their attorney is a "team" player, is receptive to assistance and has the heart and desire to win. Once a jury says, "guilty as charged," it's a little late to make corrections.

As I said, the attorney will be the vital link between freedom and prison. Select the correct attorney, or the results could be devastating. For additional information specific to attorney issues, see Selecting the Proper Attorney for False Allegation Cases and the individual links attached to that page.

For additional information specific to defending false allegations of child sexual abuse, see the following links at Cowling Investigations, Inc.'s website.