Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

help for my dad

My ex-sister in law is accusing my 73 year old dad of ''inappropriately touching'' my neice (her daughter) who is 8 years old when she visits with my brother on weekends. Dad is the father of 5 (3 daughters) and grandfather to 11 (6 girls) ranging in age from 20 down to newborn. My daughters are 20 and 19 never has my dad done anything inappropriate. We are all very worried about how this could affect him. Just how far can an accusation like this go? She says that my neice told the psychologist that she feels uncomfortable when grandpa tickles her. Apparently, my ex sister in law embelished and said she had noticed that too (she hasn't even seen my dad in over a year). So she called the child protective services in New Jersey - dad lives in New York. Can he be in real trouble from this? Again, he's 73 - the nicest man you would want to meet. He is the innocent victim of a very angry, jealous person.


Asked on 12/07/07, 8:07 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Anthony Colleluori The Law Offices of Anthony J. Colleluori & Associates PLLC

Re: help for my dad

These are very serious charges and can result in a finding against your father that he is a sex abuser. If allegations like this go far enough, it can result in arrest and jail. You should get your dad to a lawyer who has some experience in both family law and criminal law. Experience in sexual abuse and false claims is a big help too.

That lawyer will also ask that you be sure that your dad not ever be alone with the child and that he be allowed to speak to all the other grandchildren. He may also ask your dad to undergo a very unobtrusive psych exam to determine if he fits the profile for a child abuser. Finally if there are very specific allegations, he might have your dad take a polygraph test if he thinks it won't hurt your dad either mentally or legally.

If you want to speak about this further, you can contact me about it through the links below.

Good luck.

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Answered on 12/08/07, 10:16 am
Christopher Hoyt The Law Offices of Christopher W. Hoyt

Re: help for my dad

Accusations like this can go quite far. These are extremely serious allegations and you should have your father consult with an attorney. This way if the police or child services come around you will have a relationship with an attorney if an arrest is made. The most important thing is that your father should not say anything to anyone about these allegations, unless he is told to do so by an attorney.

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Answered on 12/07/07, 9:46 pm


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