This paper was written at the request of the National Congress for Men (later
changed to the National Congress for Men and Children, and now known as the
National Congress for Fathers & Children) and was published in NetWORK 
Spring
1990, Volume 4, No. 1); THE FAMILY LAW COMMENTATOR (May 1990, Vol. XV, No. 2,
the Florida Bar) and the Family Law Review (June 1990, Vol. 22, No. 2, Family
Law Section, New York State Bar Association).
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                                The SAID Victim
                                 Introduction
Accusations of sexual abuse in custody and visitation disputes continue and
studies indicate the national divorce rate is increasing. Matrimonial attor-
neys are having clients, the accused as well as the accuser, undergo 
olygraph
and psychological testing.
Statistics on the frequency of the accusations are inconclusive on this 
ocial
problem that is not limited to the United States. Layman and professional 
ite
high or low percentages that support education, training, experience, and 
er-
sonal beliefs.  Only one study has been conducted on the issue, the results
eventually became the foundation for the American Bar Associations' "SEXUAL
ABUSE ALLEGATIONS IN CUSTODY AND VISITATION CASES: A Resource Book for Judges
and Court Personnel".
Resource material on child abuse and allegations of child abuse clearly indi-
cate the mental health community is divided on the accusations issue. 
sychia-
trists, psychologists, social workers, therapists, and counselors have taken
definite sides, particularly in regard to sexual child abuse.
This article is about the falsely accused - how they react, the response they
receive, what they learn, and what they propose.  The intent is to point out
that many falsely accused individuals react in ways that go far beyond 'I did
not do what you have accused me of doing'. Another intent is to pose challen-
ges to the mental health industry which is sustaining the accusations.
The accused are parents who have been falsely accused of sexually abusing a
minor child in the context of either a custody or visitation dispute. While
the majority of those accused are fathers, by pending or ex-wives, mothers
have also been falsely accused under the same circumstances.  For the most
part their names are not known to the general public. Some cases occasionally
appear in the press, but with few exceptions do we read about them in the
national media.
For the purpose of this article the falsely accused will be called "SAID Vic-
tims", from the June 1987 Karol Ross & Gordon Blush paper "The SAID Syndrome:
Sexual Allegations in Divorce". SAID Victims will be further defined as indi-
viduals who 1) never sexually abused a minor child, and 2) a court of law de-
termined there was no sexual abuse.
Child abuse and allegations of child abuse are alarmingly real in our society
today - reports are both true and false.  They are made in good faith by man-
dated reporters protected by judicial immunity, by anonymous callers to state
hotlines, by concerned or malicious neighbors, by concerned or disgruntled 
ay
care employees, by students against teachers, by spouses in 
ustody/visitation
disputes, by step-children in blended families, by grown adults and children
against the clergy, by grown adults against their parents, etc.
While this paper concerns itself with SAID Victims, other falsely accused in-
dividuals may easily relate to the topic.
                                 Short History
In 1925 Navy Lt. Lyman Swenson's former wife was awarded custody of the minor
children of the marriage. The "tender years" doctrine applied. The former 
rs.
Swenson interfered with visitation and "made charges and statements against
(him) of a serious and derogatory nature, all of which were untrue and made
without any foundation and for no cause whatsoever".  In 1929 the California
First District Court of Appeals awarded custody to the lieutenant.
In 1955, after almost three years of litigation, the Minnesota Supreme Court
(Stoll v. Stoll) affirmed a trial courts decision to transfer custody from 
he
mother to the father. The evidence indicated the mother had developed delu-
sions that the father desired to perform indecent acts with the children and
attempted to impress such thoughts upon the children. The court stated, "The
strain upon all of these lives resulting from the (mother's) false 
ccusations
and fixed delusions has been severe, and is beginning to make itself felt in
the formulating of the mental attitude and character of these children".
In 1961 the Supreme Court of Iowa ruled (Andreesen v. Andreesen) that the
wife, who suffered from paranoia and accompanying delusions, was not entitled
to have custody of the minor child.  Among other things the mother believed
her minor daughter had been sexually molested by the father and the child
would become a prostitute. The court stated the mother "seems to be further-
est from normal on sexual matters".
In 1977 after a custody reversal from the mother to the father the New York
Supreme Court (Appellate Division) stated in Hotze v. Hotze that in all her
contacts with the son she reiterated the same destructive theme to him, "is
your father beating you?", "try to escape", don't give up hope".   She also
made unfounded accusations of homosexuality against her former husband and
accused him of sleeping with her daughter.
In 1981 S.L. Kaplan and S.J. Kaplan alerted the mental health community on
accusations of sexual child abuse during divorce and custody proceedings.
This is acknowledged as the first formal reporting of a potential problem.
In 1985 the House Committee on Children, Youth and Families was told, "As 
any
as 10-15 percent of the evaluations involve the custody dispute between sepa-
rated, divorcing, divorced spouses, and/or other co-habiting persons...It is
clear that parents and lawyers have determined that the only way to deny per-
manent visiting privileges of another spouse is to allege child abuse or
sexual abuse".
Accusations of sexual child abuse made in the context of custody or 
isitation
litigation were abundant during the 1980's. A study on the correlation 
etween
the accusations and changes in state statutes on custody determinations and
type (sole, joint, shared) would be interesting. More fathers seeking custody
during this decade is another factor that should be considered.
During this period an increase of child abuse was seen on a national level,
many statistics failed to mention the rising incidence of reports made in 
us-
tody or visitation litigation.
>>> End - The SAID Victim, Part 1 of 6: Reid Kimbrough---
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