wrongfully accused

What is the name of your state? Utah
On April 17th my wife left for the weekend and two of my friends came to visit me from Salt Lake. My friends and I had a small party and the neighbors came over with an extremly intoxicated woman. The intoxicated woman was very foward in a sexual manner to my friends and I. The next day the sheriff tracked me down and informed that she had made allegations against me for rape. The investigation ended today with a polygraph, showing that I was truthful and she was lying about the whole thing.
The whole small town now believes that I am a rapist. I can no longer work for the county because of conflict between her husband and myself. This woman has ruined the trust of my employer, my wife and the community. I will probably never again be able to employed as a Peace Officer.
My question," Is there any civil liabilty that I could pursue against this woman for her damages that she did to my life.".

It's a shame

browtine,
It's a shame that a person (mainly females) are allowed to make false allegations (sexual abuse) without any repercussions of it. There should be some kind of harsh punishment for that. If they (the accuser) are found to be falsely accusing someone then I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent and do time for it. The falsely accused could face up to MANY years because of this, and something needs to be done about it. I don't have any advice, I just feel for what you are going through. You are lucky they didn't try and charge you on her word alone, and that you were allowed a polygraph to prove your innocence.

With the truth now being known it should make a difference with how people look at you. The people that assumed your guilt (especially your wife) says a lot about thier character, and they should be the ones ashamed now. I hope you can do something about it.

You're telling me that it ended with a polygraph? Last I checked, a polygraph didn't conclusivly prove anything. Are you leaving something out?

While a polygraph is not admissable as direct evidence, it is often used as an investigative tool to assist investigators in evaluating their case and the veracity of claims in cases where it comes down to word against word.

Its not a common practice, but in cases of molestation, sex assaults, and child disappearances it has found a place.

To the original poster's inquiry - you will have to find an attorney to consult for an appropriate evaluation of the case you have for a tort against the woman. But, you need to keep in mind that the fact that no charges appear to have been filed does not mean that you can show that the incident did not happen.

Now, you say you used to be employed as a peace officer? Were you terminated over these allegations? If so, you might be able to sue for your job back or at least for lost pay and a clear record so you can go elsewhere. However, if you were let go for some related reason (dishonesty, etc.) then you're out of luck. And I shall assume you have already availed yourself of your association's (police/sheriff union) legal representation.

Carl

The reason polygraphs are not used to prove innocence is because the second training seminar I took while on assignment with NATO was how to beat the machine.

It's not a complicated process and unless the polygraph operator is clarivoyant, anyone with a modicum of intelligence and training can beat it.

That's why NATO and The ECSOF use voice-stress indicators along with visual acuity testing measures in place of the box.

Either that or 'OTHER' methods to determine if a subject is telling the truth or not