Legal Question in Family Law in Michigan

Possible Child Abuse

I was recently informed by my daughther that she ''had dreams'' where her father (my ex-husband) was molesting her. She claims there were 2 ''dreams'' and they were about 6 years ago, when she was 5 or 6. She's only recently realizing that they may not be ''dreams'' after all but she does not want to get her father in trouble. I only care about her being okay mentally, and I want her to get help to figure this out. However, it seems if she goes to a mental health professional in Michigan they are required by law to report any suspected abuse. This means her father gets investigated. If she knew this, she would refuse help. Of course, I could report it, but she came to me in confidence. What do I do to help her?


Asked on 7/14/03, 2:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Regina Mullen Legal Data Services, PLC

Re: Possible Child Abuse

You need to explain to her that if nothing happened to her, it is unlikely that anything will happen to your Ex. If something did happen to her, it should be dealt with. So he gets investigated, --so what! Who is the victim here?! It's not as if it's you goading her into a false accusation,--she came to you!

If you think that therapy is in her best interest (and it most probably is), then you should take care of her and not worry about him. And, she needs to know that it is not her job to take care of him, it's to be free of molestation. If he did it to her, he has no barriers against doing it to some other child.

Family counseling may be in order, but I think your best recourse is to get her some professional help and let the chips fall where they may.

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Answered on 7/14/03, 7:28 pm


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