False Allegations in Shared Spaces

On cross-examination by the defense, the State’s witnesses conceded false memories are a real danger when small children report they have been molested.

Case Summary

The accusation

That Roy molested three-year-old Patty while she was at the in-home daycare his son attended.

The charges

Rape of a Child in the First Degree and Child Molestation in the First Degree

The possible sentence

from ten years to life in prison.

The defense David Marshall presented

Patty’s mother misheard a remark Patty made and feared she had been molested. With suggestive questioning, the mother unintentionally elicited a false child molestation allegation that over time became a false memory.

The trial result

The jury acquitted Roy of both charges.

What helped win the case‍

Testimony from the State’s witnesses, on cross-examination, that false memories are a real danger when small children report they have been molested.