False Allegations with no way to fight Claim

[Jeff331]

I am in PA and have a 16 year old child with special needs and limited verbal ability. The despicable neighbor next door has it in for my son and accused him of exposing himself in front of her 9 year old granddaughter. There are ways to disprove the allegation and the authorities said they will not be pursuing the matter after speaking with the neighbor further and discovered that their whole conversation devolved into a dislike for my son instead of the allegation that was claimed.

The problem i am having is the cops will not provide me with a copy of the complaint and in the meantime the neighbor is spreading this story around and i feel like i have no recourse. How can I get a copy of the report and the neighbor to stop slandering my son?

 

[quincy]

I am in PA and have a 16 year old child with special needs and limited verbal ability. The despicable neighbor next door has it in for my son and accused him of exposing himself in front of her 9 year old granddaughter. There are ways to disprove the allegation and the authorities said they will not be pursuing the matter after speaking with the neighbor further and discovered that their whole conversation devolved into a dislike for my son instead of the allegation that was claimed.

The problem i am having is the cops will not provide me with a copy of the complaint and in the meantime the neighbor is spreading this story around and i feel like i have no recourse. How can I get a copy of the report and the neighbor to stop slandering my son?

You can go to the agency (police department) that took the original complaint and request a copy.

You can have an attorney draft a cease and desist letter to send to the neighbor, warning of legal action (e.g., defamation suit) if the neighbor does not stop telling lies.

And, on the off-chance that your son might, indeed, be exposing himself to the neighbor child, you should impress on him the need to keep his pants up and zipped when outside.

Good luck.

 

[Jeff331]

You can go to the agency (police department) that took the original complaint and request a copy.

You can have an attorney draft a cease and desist letter to send to the neighbor, warning of legal action (e.g., defamation suit) if the neighbor does not stop telling lies.

And, on the off-chance that your son might, indeed, be exposing himself to the neighbor child, you should impress on him the need to keep his pants up and zipped when outside.

Good luck.

Thanks Quincy. The police department said that they cannot provide me with a copy of the complaint and gave me some confusing reason. Do I need to get a lawyer on this to release the report? Also, the neighbor has a security camera which likely should also have audio. That is why i want a copy of the report. I know it did not happen because the police and DA office elected not to pursue the matter. if there was no double that it occured, (and the police expressed doubt to me) then my son would have been in trouble.

 

[quincy]

Thanks Quincy. The police department said that they cannot provide me with a copy of the complaint and gave me some confusing reason. Do I need to get a lawyer on this to release the report? Also, the neighbor has a security camera which likely should also have audio. That is why i want a copy of the report. I know it did not happen because the police and DA office elected not to pursue the matter. if there was no double that it occured, (and the police expressed doubt to me) then my son would have been in trouble.

I don't know how a copy of the complaint will help you but here is a link to Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law with a download for a standard RTKL request form (although the police department should have a form for you to fill out there):
https://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/projects/page/how-to-file-a-right-to-know-request-in-pennsylvania
The police report might fall under one of the right-to-know exceptions.

Good luck.