Supporting a father facing false allegations

Thanks to our support, a father can live without damaging labels and spend quality time with his child.

When it comes to working with families, cases are often emotionally charged and difficult for everyone involved. However, the stakes were particularly high for a father who was being accused of serious sexual abuse of both his former partner and their child.

Not long after their child was born, the mother and father’s relationship deteriorated. It was at this point that the mother started to make allegations. The father denied these, believing the mother was suffering from a mental breakdown in which she experienced delusional episodes.

As the situation unravelled, the mother stopped the father from seeing their child. Within a very short space of time, the father had gone from helping look after the child as part of a family unit to zero contact.

Evaluating the evidence

As it was so unclear what was going on, the court decided to hold a fact-finding hearing where the mother’s allegations could be tested. With a police investigation taking place in parallel, it meant there was a huge amount of evidence that needed to be taken into consideration.

Looking critically at the evidence, including 30 witness statements, the team at Anthony Collins (AC) were able to analyse the evidence in depth and uncover inconsistencies between the mother’s narrative and some of the key witnesses she sought to rely on.

Preparing for court

The stakes were incredibly high. If allegations against the father could be backed up, it would stop him from seeing his child outside of a supervised environment for a very long time. If the mother was found to be making false allegations, it would raise questions about whether she was mentally well enough to look after their child.

Before the hearing, our team prepared the father for the realities of court. They asked him questions in a similar way to what would happen under cross-examination to ensure he made a positive impression. Ultimately, we needed to help him communicate the truth of what happened under very stressful circumstances.

A positive result

The court found no evidence to support the mother’s allegations. Not only did this mean the father would not be tarnished with negative labels, but most importantly, it meant he had the chance to build a relationship with his child and a healthy co-parenting partnership with the mother.

There were concerns about how the mother would react to her allegations being overthrown. However, it seemed the hearing was a significant step in her mental health journey, and a final agreement was made outside the court that the father could spend extended, unsupervised time with his child.

“My motivation for working in this area is to make a positive, tangible impact on people’s lives. In this case, a father is now allowed to have a relationship with his child. Without support from AC, he probably wouldn’t be in this position.”
Tom Gregory, solicitor, Anthony Collins