child molestation slander?

[christinemm]

What is the name of your state?New York
my sons uncle molested my 4 year old. police tell me unless he confesses he will walk. I posted and handed out flyers in his neighboorhood with child molester in huge letters, 2 different pictures of him, his name, age, and address. And it said on the bottom that he molested my son his nephew, and that police are powerless unless he confesses. where is the justice for this poor innocent 4 year old child. if guilt wont make him confee maybe public awarness might help. This physco's mother now wants to sue me. she said she filed a police report but i havnt heard from them. Can they really win? they have no money, would a lawyer take this without any up front money? Could there be crimal charges against me? If they did win could i be forced to see my property? and what would happen if i did it again? or sombody else did it? Or if it was worded differently?
thanks from one angry mom and her little innocent boy

 

[meganproser]

Is the uncle at least 18? If so, his mother has nothing to say about the whole thing. If not, you could be in very big trouble.

Why won't your child's testimony be sufficient to charge the accused?

>>they have no money, would a lawyer take this without any up front money?

They might if YOU have a lot of money.

If this "uncle" has no legal recourse, then what do you think is stopping him from posting YOUR picture all over the place and accusing you of any number of heinous things?

Somewhere on the net there MUST be a forum for parents of victims. You would probably learn a lot from finding such a forum and chatting with others who have been in your situation. Good luck!

 

[christinemm]

thanks for trying to help. i was hoping for an attorney to answer. he is over 18. the word alone of a 4 year old means nothing in our justice system. I dont have much money a lawyer would laugh. my property is worth 250,000-300,000. And if this physco did come up with that idea i would sue him, truth is the only defense to slander i read. but if hes not charge what is legal truth. please lawyers answer me. thanks

 

[meganproser]

As you know, I am NOT a lawyer.

You wrote: "truth is the only defense to slander".

Truth is not the ONLY defense to libel.

Did you think about how distributing those flyers would affect your son? I appreciate your effort to "warn" the rest of society about the "uncle" but the welfare of your own child is certainly just as important. PLEASE get some professional help for him.

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

There are two forms of the Libelous action If the action is in writing, it is called "defamation": If the action is spoken, then it is "slander". But it is all "libel".

 

[meganproser]

I sit corrected. I did not notice she had referred to "slander".

There are two forms of DEFAMATION. Written is libel, spoken is slander. It is all DEFAMATION.

"Truth" is not the ONLY defense to either form of defamation.

 

[christinemm]

this place is a joke

my son is 4 and lives 50 miles away. i doubt this will effect him. i guess you feel a need to show how smart you are by correcting my terminolgy. i think it was pretty clear what i did. not matter what word i choose to call it. i am not a lawyer. thats why i'm here. i stupidly thought somone was going to be helpful here. not just here to show off their little bit of legal knowledge and their verbal skills.

 

[divgradcurl]

This physco's mother now wants to sue me. she said she filed a police report but i havnt heard from them. Can they really win? they have no money, would a lawyer take this without any up front money? Could there be crimal charges against me? If they did win could i be forced to see my property? and what would happen if i did it again? or sombody else did it? Or if it was worded differently?

The mom can't sue, she has no standing.

The "psycho" can sue.

Can he win? Depends on the facts of the case. If he does sue, he probably has a fair case. Usually in slander and libel cases, the tough part is showing damages -- however, here you have accused him of a serious crime -- that makes the slander or libel "slander per se" or "libel per se" which means that damages are presumed and do not have to be proven, and makes his case much easier to prove.

Truth is indeed a defense to slander or libel. However, it is up to YOU to prove that he really did what you said he did. Although the burden of proof is lower in a civil matter than it is for a criminal matter, you will still need to prove the truth of the matter in order to prevail in a truth defense.

You could also attach the other elements of defamation, but the other elements -- defamatory subject matter, of and concerning, and publication -- seem to be pretty clear-cut based on your admission of putting these flyers up everywhere.

they have no money, would a lawyer take this without any up front money?

If YOU have money and/or assets, and they think it is a good case, certainly.

Could there be crimal charges against me?

Potentially -- it could be seen as harrassment -- but it's up to the DA to press charges, not the other party here.

If they did win could i be forced to see my property?

Potentially, but unlikely if it is your primary residence. However, they could put a lien on the property, which would make it tough to sell or refinance in the future.

and what would happen if i did it again?

They could sue you again.

or sombody else did it?

They could sue them.

Or if it was worded differently?

Like how? Anyway I can see that would get your message across could also be seem as defamantory.

I'm suprised that they would bother with a defamation suit at this point -- it seems a restraining order against you would be faster and easier, and give them more leverage later, as well as more options to come after you (that's a hint to maybe quit before you get in more trouble).

What you are describing is horrible, but the fact of the matter is you just can't go around publically accusing people of crimes without facing possible consequences.

 

[christinemm]

youve been very heplful. thank you.
fact is if they dont charge him tommorow i'll be back out there maybe this time i'll do it at night so the police arent called while in the middle of it. I talked to another lawyer and know the slim risks, so i can do it till the get a restraing order. then i'll just word it different and have somone else do it. thanks again
and thanks for not be so concerned with my poor spelling and typing skills. It seems real important to half the jackasses in here.

 

[howamidoing]

my son is 4 and lives 50 miles away. i doubt this will effect him. i guess you feel a need to show how smart you are by correcting my terminolgy. i think it was pretty clear what i did. not matter what word i choose to call it. i am not a lawyer. thats why i'm here. i stupidly thought somone was going to be helpful here. not just here to show off their little bit of legal knowledge and their verbal skills.

Your son lives 50 miles away from you? There is a story in that one I am sure. I hope ,when you put up those posters, your spelling and grammer were much better than they are here...

 

[christinemm]

my point was to the person that asked how do you think this will effect my son. answer not at all. the perp lives fifty miles away and my son is 4 years old. I didnt say my son lives 50 miles away And yes my spelling was perfect on the flyers thanks for asking.