Hi Kimberly. No, I was falsely accused of assault by two different women, in two different instances. The accusations were entirely fabricated. Luckily in one case there were three independent witnesses (a restaurant manager, a hostess, and a waitress) who had been watching through a set of windows, and in another case the accuser retracted her story after I pointed out that there were cameras in the store.

In both cases the accusations were fabricated with the purpose of harming me. In the bookstore incident, the accuser believed me to be a friend of someone who she did not like, and thought she could get back at that person by falsely accusing me of something. I did not even know the woman who accused me!

In both cases police were called, and I was at serious risk of being arrested and convicted because the two women were very emotional in their account and very convincing. They were clearly both practiced liars.

There is a third person, a man, who also accused me of a series of things over a period of three years, between 1991 and 1994, in an attempt to harass me. He knew how to work the system, and knew that false accusation is hard to prove and that there would be no consequence to him as long as he was clever, which he was. He was my ex wife’s boyfriend. A relative of his was a private detective, and I believe that person coached him in how to falsely accuse me and get away with it.

Accusation is very powerful. You could, right now, go to a magistrate and fill out a form, claiming that your neighbor assaulted you — or even raped you. They would then be dragged from their home, handcuffed, taken to a police station, chained to a bench with criminals, eventually put in a cell with other criminals, kept overnight, and finally taken before a judge, where the judge would decide if there is a case. They then might release your neighbor on bail. Your neighbor would then have to hire a lawyer and prepare to prove that he did not do what you claim. If he proves that he did not, he would be released, and nothing would happen to you!

Nothing!

On the other hand, if you were to testify in court in a convincing manner, your neighbor might— in today’s climate — very likely be convicted, just based on your testimony.

As I said in my original comment, I am completely supportive of MeToo, and taking claims of women seriously. That does not mean that I want us to throw out due process and the assumption of innocence until one is proven guilty.

False accusation is a very powerful weapon, and if we allow accusation to have the power of proof, then we have exchanged one horrible situation for another.