One of the very worst things a parent can do is to try to prevent the other parent from having a relationship with their child by falsely manufacturing allegations against that parent. Sadly, this is a scenario that happens all too frequently, as any family lawyer will testify.
The recent case Re ABCDEF (Fact Finding: Honour Based Violence) is a clear example, which tragically led to a child having no contact with his father for more than half of his life. Thankfully, the allegations made by the mother in the case have been proved to be false, and steps can now be taken to try to repair the damage caused to the child’s life.
The facts of the case, as I understand them, were that the father was a UK citizen and the mother was Pakistani. They married in Pakistan in April 2011, and the father returned to this country the next month. A year later the mother joined him in England. In August 2013 their son, ‘D’, was born.
The family went on holiday in Pakistan in February 2015. They returned to this country in April 2015, by which time the mother was expecting another child. The mother and father attended hospital in August, for the mother to have her first scan. It became clear from that scan and the dates of expected delivery, and therefore the date of conception, that the father knew he could not be the biological father of the child (the mother had had sexual intercourse with another man whilst in Pakistan).
After this, the mother remained living with the father in the family home for two months, before she left without telling the father, taking D with her. The father has had no contact with D since. The mother initially stayed with a friend, but had to leave after three weeks. She then contacted the police and made allegations of domestic abuse against the father, as a result of which she was placed in a refuge. She gave birth to her second child in the following month. She named her husband as the father, but subsequent DNA testing confirmed that he was not the father.
In February 2016 the father issued an application to spend time with his son. The mother responded to the application by making various allegations of honour-based violence against the father, including that her marriage to the father was a forced marriage, that she was treated like a prisoner in the family home, that the father and his family threatened to have her deported to Pakistan, and that the father and his family made threats to kill her.
The matter was eventually listed for a fact-finding hearing before Mr Justice Keehan. It did not go well for the mother. Mr Justice Keehan found her to be “a most unsatisfactory witness”, and found that she “lied serially”, including to the police and the court.
“In the course of her evidence,” he said, “it became abundantly clear that there was no truth whatsoever in her allegations.” It had not been a forced marriage, she was not a prisoner in her home, and any threats that had been made against her did not come from the father (her brother may have made ‘honour-based’ threats to kill her). And as for an allegation that the father gave her the ‘cold-shoulder’ and that he was not warm towards her, that was entirely understandable in the circumstances. He said:
“In the circumstances that I have described, I am entirely satisfied that the mother made a false case and false allegations against the father. There is no truth whatsoever in any of the allegations that the mother has made. The father does not pose any adverse risk of harm to the mother: still less is she at risk of honour-based violence from him. His approach to her actions has been measured. It follows that, in my judgment, there is absolutely no reason why the father and [D] should not, as soon as ever possible, have the opportunity to resume their relationship. It is, in my judgment, appalling that this little boy and this father have not seen each other for some three and a half years solely because of the malicious conduct, as I find it to be, of the mother.”
And he concluded in a similar vein:
“All the allegations made against the father by the mother are dismissed. None of them are true. This mother has wrongly and maliciously sought to exclude the father from Child D’s life. There is no reason why the child and the father should not now have the opportunity to re-establish their warm and loving relationship and that the father has and plays an important and full role in Child D’s life which will be to the inestimable benefit of Child D. It is to be regretted deeply that the mother’s actions have resulted in Child D and the father not having any contact whatsoever for three and a half years”
Obviously, it is now the job of the court to see that the father/child relationship is re-established as quickly as possible.
You can read the full judgment here.
I am going through a similar devious plan… stereotyping due to my ethnicity had a draconian effect on my life and the life of my 2.5 years old without a single evidence. Thanks to the Family court and the system that plays into the hand of such allegations. Very painful. There should be consequences for damaging people’s lives.
My son is being used like a ball.
He is a loveing and kind person when it comes to his children.
They are his live.
And the courts are makeing it like he is a bad father. And that is wrong. 100% wrong…..
I AM GOING THROUGH SAME SUTUATION I BRING MY WIFE FROM PAKISTAN. SHE PUT CASE ON IN PAKISTAN THAT I AM NOT BRINGING HER TO UK, I TRY MY BEST BUT FAIL. AT THE END IN FEB 2020 SHE GOT VISA AND ON 6TH OF APRIL SHE CAME TO THIS COUNTRY. AS SHE ARRIVED HER BEHAVIOUR CHANGED, SHE START ABUSING ME ON DAILY BASIS AND WHEN I CAME BACK FROM WORK SHE COVER HER FACE FROM ME AND TRY TO PROVOKE ME AND ASK ME TO SEND MONEY TO HER FATHER. AND ON THE 29 OF APRIL SHE WENT TO WOMMEN ADD AND ON 17 JUNE SHE PUT A CASE ON ME WHICH ALL BASE LESS AND FALS ALIGATION OF EVERY THING TO GET UK VISA AND TOOK MY SON WITH HER. I DID NOT SEE MY SON FROM LAST 5 MONTH.
Which case was this
My partner made a very serious false allegation against my father in an attempt to cause harm by having an investigation into a fabricated allegation so that me and my family are not allowed to see the kids, will this be taken severely into consideration by the court? She has not let me attend the birth or see the twins since birth they are now 3 months old and she refuses to tell me where she is staying or about the kids well being I have submitted a c100 for contact and live with order.
Hi Dani. Thank you for your question which I have passed on to our Client Care Team who may be able to help. Kind regards
Can a mother lose custudy of the child if she made false alegations(sexual abuse)in family court/and the court finds them to be untrue.
What options is more likely the court to go,in order to ensure the welfare of the child is secure
i am facing similar circumstances my wife is Asian ethnic background we both were born and bought up in uk she falsely maliciously accused me the father of domestic violence etc she alerted the police who were swift to take action all of which seemed in favor of her at my peril
so many times i tried to tell my side of the story but to deaf ears these officers clearly were predisposed of had thought mentality prejudiced biased that Asian men’s husbands and fathers were in someway inclined or likely be guilty of participating engaging acting in this manner and would be guilty of the charges alleged by the poor abused defenseless Asian mother wife
i tried to explain to the officers that she was hoodwinking them in order to hurt me and prevent me from gaining access to my children who i loved so much and she would be eligible for help and support an most important;y for her financial aid and new housing
i explained she prev was employed in the law sector an was very familiar with D.A and knew exactly how to get her own way
in the end without my know how and with the help of the police she was able to move away 100s of miles with my children who on her terms i have only seen for 4 times in 4 years
in those 4 years, i have no knowledge of where my kids live where they go to school docs etc no further alleged threats violance contact has materialized even though i the father have been left powerless as i don not have funds savings or access to legal aid to address this matter through the courts
all this negativity breaking up her making up these false allegations has isolated me from family and friends who were inclined to believe her story
so here i am on my own a broken man with a sad tale to tell
My friend been there done that, I was advised to walk away, but I fought the system, it destroyed me, my children are adults and emotionally destroyed, they don’t care about me,
Cut your ties forget them start afresh or it will destroy you, the Police are a politicised organisation who work for profit. They will destroy you.
If your children want to find you they will come to you.
Meet a nice woman start a fresh. Good luck the system is designed to keep men down
We do not know which way to turn. My partners ex has made allegations that both my partner and I has done emotional abuse to there child. The mother has a history of alcohol abuse mental health and my partner took her to court to put a safety plan in place for the children which they share 50/50 through the courts . The mother has turned there son against me saying horrible untrue things about me how I said she was ugly etc. these allegations are tearing me and my partner apart . She hates that I have a relationship with her child(the daughter) and treat her the same as my two sons. I am a very good mum always putting the children first . What can I / we do? She has now sent a c100 form wanting her daughter more basically to keep her away from us as she has such a great time in our household.
Hi Demelza. Sorry to hear what you are going through at the moment. I have passed your question through to our Client Care team to see if they can offer any advice. Best wishes