Is there recourse for continued false allegations?

[agreatdad]

My brother and his wife are in the process of divorce.  They have been seperated for a little over 5 months and in that time she has made repeated false reports that he is hurting his children.  
She has taken the children to two different doctors alleging physical abuse of the older child at one and sexual abuse of the younger child at the other.  She has taken them to Child Services on more than one occasion reporting sexual and physical abuse of both children.  
The first report from Child Services was unfounded and the case worker noted that one of the children did report abuse, but seemed "very rehearsed" and that the other child refused to discuss the issue.    Additionally they found no physical evidense of either kind of abuse.  
We are in the middle of the second Child Services case right now.  My brother was refused contact during the initial stage, since it was the second report in such a short period of time, but then Child Services returned his regular court ordered visitation and put a safety plan in place stating that he could not be alone with the children and named specific persons to monitor his contact.  This safety plan has been followed to the letter.  
After he had one visit, his wife didn't like that he was getting supervised visits so she went to the court and got a temporary restraining order alleging further abuse.  At the hearing for the permanent restraining order the current investigator from child services testified that the children are being coached and can therefore not be considered reliable sources and that there is no other evidence of any wrong doing.  Her petition for a Restraining Order was denied.
At this point she has had one or the other of the children repeat these stories to at least one counselor, police officer, Child Services, and two doctors.  My brother has had two temporary restraining orders and two Child Services investigations.  He has lost a total of 5 weeks of visitation.
1.  Is there any recourse, either civil or criminal, for this kind of continued harrassment?
2.  What should he do at this point to protect himself from further allegations?

Thanks for your help.

[StPaulieGirl]

Your brother has worse problems than I do, but I would love to know how to make someone stop this kind of behavior.  Hopefully Soc has some advice.

[socrateaser]

>1.  Is there any recourse, either civil or criminal, for this
>kind of continued harrassment?

If the CPS officer has testified that the reports are unfounded, then you can ask the DA to prosecute for filing a false report, which will probably lead nowhere, but you could sue civilly for intentional infliction of emotional distress, for defamation of character, and for wrongful institution of civil proceeding and abuse of legal process.

>2.  What should he do at this point to protect himself from
>further allegations?

I would offer to take a polygraph exam and submit the result to the court. It's not admissible as evidence unless your opponent agrees, so if she's lying and you're not, she will refuse and the judge will know what's up.

You could also move for contempt on grounds that she is using CPS to frustrate your court ordered visitation/custody.

I would do all of the above. The family court will never impose any serious money sanctions for the contempt if she's receiving child support, because that would hurt the child.

But if you win in civil court, you could get a punitive damage award, and that judgment would stick like glue, ruin her credit report, and if she owns a home, you could lien it, and maybe even sell it out from under her.

Plus, she can't bankrupt out of an intentional tort judgment, which is what all of the suits are describe are.

[StPaulieGirl]

1. CPS dismissed their case against me, and advised me to seek legal help regarding my ex.  This was last year.  Is there a statute of limitations?

2. I have a little problem with my heart.  Basically my resting pulse rate hovers between 89 and 123 despite the medication.  Is there a way for me to take an accurate polygraph test, should the opportunity arise?

3. How does one try and explain PAS to school officials without sounding like a few sandwiches short of a good picnic? I keep rehearsing ways to bring up the subject without sounding nuts.  I don't even believe what I'm saying.  However there are 2 adult daughters who can tell them what's up.  Can they have a say in this?  

4.  Since I don't have a Master's Degree in Psychology, I cannot comment officially about my son's behavioral characteristics.  He's been tested repeatedly, and the only official to come right out and say it was his ROTC commander.  Do I have a right (moral and legal), to have this child commited for observation?  In 2 years he'll be walking the streets, maybe in your neighborhood.

5. Any advice on how to work with the school system, regarding my above concerns?

6. I hope I formatted correctly this time.  

Thank you for any help you can give us.

[socrateaser]

>1. CPS dismissed their case against me, and advised me to
>seek legal help regarding my ex.  This was last year.  Is
>there a statute of limitations?

Yes, and it's different in every State, so I can't advise you on the issue. But it's probably not run out yet.

>
>2. I have a little problem with my heart.  Basically my
>resting pulse rate hovers between 89 and 123 despite the
>medication.  Is there a way for me to take an accurate
>polygraph test, should the opportunity arise?

Well, I'm not a polygraph examiner, so I can't tell you how that would affect the test's validity.

>
>3. How does one try and explain PAS to school officials
>without sounding like a few sandwiches short of a good picnic?
>I keep rehearsing ways to bring up the subject without
>sounding nuts.  I don't even believe what I'm saying.  However
>there are 2 adult daughters who can tell them what's up.  Can
>they have a say in this?  

Any one with personal knowledge of the behavior at issue may testify if they are deemed competent to do so (usually this means that having a pulse).

>4.  Since I don't have a Master's Degree in Psychology, I
>cannot comment officially about my son's behavioral
>characteristics.  He's been tested repeatedly, and the only
>official to come right out and say it was his ROTC commander.
>Do I have a right (moral and legal), to have this child
>commited for observation?  In 2 years he'll be walking the
>streets, maybe in your neighborhood.

You couldn't comment as an expert even if you did, because you are a party in the case, and as such, your testimony would be biased.

>
>5. Any advice on how to work with the school system, regarding
>my above concerns?

Nope!

[StPaulieGirl]

I talked with the attendance office at my son's school, and the lady there sent me out a homeschooling waiver for ill students.  

I think my boy's allergies are back, on top of everything else.  I had severe allergies, and ended up having shots 3 times a week as a child.  It is undeniably miserable.  My son had severe allergies when he was small, and the HMO wouldn't test him.  He is pretty miserable right now, and otc meds make his behavior worse.  If I can get the Dr to cooperate ( mr. too cheap to run xrays), I can homeschool him with the district's blessings.  If it works out, let's see what kind of a GPA I can pull off 8^D

Re#3-Any one with personal knowledge of the behavior at issue may testify if they are deemed competent to do so (usually this means that having a pulse).

Thank you for replying.  This would be a last ditch effort.  I don't want the girls to have to be in the position to testify against their father, however they have no problem with that concerning their baby sister.

Thank you again, Socrateaser :)