Straight from the mouths of Delaware officials

Here’s what the experts, leaders and state officials have been saying about false allegations and PFAs for years: “PFAs are often used as pawns in divorce cases.” — Delaware Secretary of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families [at the time] Vivian Rapposelli (Delaware State News, April 19, 2010) “False allegations of sexual abuse have become the weapon of choice for mothers seeking to alienate their children’s father in custody cases.” — Family Law Commission member Lynn Kokjohn (Delaware State News, April 9, 2010) “I know there are abuses made (in the PFA system). Unfortunately, the people who are domestic violence advocates are reluctant to give up or make any changes.” — Chief Family Court Judge Chandlee Kuhn (Family Law Commission meeting May 13, 2010) “One of our problems that has come up repeatedly to the commission from the public has been the filing of false Protection from Abuse orders. The public has asked why people get away with claiming abuse when it didn’t happen.” — (Former) Family Law Commission chairwoman Sen. Liane Sorenson (Family Law Commission meeting April 17, 2008) “There are already penalties against false swearing (in Family Court) ... they are not being enforced, and I don’t know why.” — Family Court Judge William Walls (Family Law Commission Meeting, April 2008) Dr. Harriet Ainbinder best summed it up for everyone when she said, “I want to remind everyone that previously we had the Attorney General (Beau Biden) here to talk about false allegations, and he told us that essentially he would not pursue that (false allegations) because of various legal issues.” (Family Law Commission meeting May 14, 2009) The former attorney general maintained his policy of denial during his tenure and kept his head deep in the sand, when he said the following: “False Protection From Abuse orders are not the issue. The vast majority of them are sought in good faith and are granted accurately.” (Family Law Commission Meeting April 17, 2008) “Do you want to know why there isn’t any perjury in Federal Court? They prosecute it (unlike Family Court).” — Family Law Commission Chairman (Esquire) Curtis Bounds (Family Law Commission Meeting March, 2015) Why hasn’t someone stepped forward to fight for reform yet? Instead, they play it politically safe and make a mockery of the true victims of domestic violence and allow victims of false allegations to suffer.

Gordon Smith Delaware Domestic Violence Legislative Project Felton