Oregon Enacts Law | Fines for Making False Report of Child Abuse

Here's a great idea! After seeing three false reports of child abuse within three weeks in the middle of high-conflict divorce and custody cases . . . I hear that Oregon has finally come up with a solution.

The Oregon Legislature has passed legislation making malicious filing of false reports of child abuse in the midst of divorce, custody fight, or other domestic conflict a Class A violation carrying a $750 fine.

These false allegations can not only make the family law case much more difficult and lead to terrible injustice, they can ruin parent-child relationships and change lives forever. I find myself hoping more states will enact such laws and wondering whether the law will make a difference. Here's the Oregon statute:

419B.016 Offense of false report of child abuse.
(1) A person commits the offense of making a false report of child abuse if, with the intent to influence a custody, parenting time, visitation or child support decision, the person:
(a) Makes a false report of child abuse to the Department of Human Services or a law enforcement agency, knowing that the report is false; or
(b) With the intent that a public or private official make a report of child abuse to the Department of Human Services or a law enforcement agency, makes a false report of child abuse to the public or private official, knowing that the report is false.
(2) Making a false report of child abuse is a Class A violation. [2011 c.606 §2]

Comments

[Andrea]

It's about damn time. Now if we can only get the other 49 states to become so "enlightened" we might have a CPS system that is no longer medieval.