Jan. 17—CONCORD — Mothers who said they have faced false claims of child abuse or neglect urged a House panel Tuesday to make it a crime for someone to "knowingly" make a false complaint to authorities.
The legislation (HB 108) would suspend confidentiality for someone who reported abuse if law enforcement concluded the person made the complaint "maliciously and with the intent to cause harm."
Katherine Shea of Goffstown, a mother of three, including one with special needs, said it's too easy for school officials or an ex-spouse to bring an anonymous complaint without any consequences.
"You are guilty until you are proven innocent," Shea said. "Let's put some teeth out there."
The bill's prime sponsor, Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield, said those who launch claims maliciously should be charged with a criminal misdemeanor and have to pay damages if a civil-court judge finds for the accused.
"We did not make the bar easy to get over," Spillane said. The state likely would not identify anyone who lodged a complaint for the first time, whether it proved to be accurate or not, he said.
If passed, the legislation would require the state to inform callers of the penalty for bringing a false report.
"It could serve for a deterrent to make false accusations and use the Department of Children, Youth and Families as a weaponized way to get back at an ex or another family member that got custody of a child," Spillane told the House Children and Family Law Committee.
But Keith...
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