Part of the reason I'm a little wound here is watching a false accusation ruin a life in slow motion from close quarters. A good friend was accused by a girl exactly that age of molesting her in a private tuition session after school. At the start of the 4 weeks that it took for the school to advise social services, who involved the police ofc, he was (properly) suspended from duties. From that moment, some, happy to stir the rumour mill named him Paedophile, found him guilty, and shouted for him to be dismissed. He broke down. A kind man and fantastic teacher in his late 50's his career ended by those who, even when the girl admitted to the police that it was totally untrue and he was cleared and reinstated, never trusted him again. He retired. I still see him occasionally, but he's a very changed man.
The family of the girl removed her from the School and we dusted down and moved on. He never did.
That certainly affected me. I went home to remember the number of times I had put a comforting arm around an upset child, and mull over what might have been had those moments I thought were kindnesses been misconstrued by someone. When the Social Services started their regular contact with boarding Schools in the early 90's everything changed. All staff were sent off on training courses. They were actually very very good. Counselling days, new rules to learn, signs to watch for. I learnt a lot but do recall being told never, ever, to touch a child.
Earlier that year, I, as Housemaster, had been given the job of telling a 13 year old boy in my care that his father had been killed in a road accident, sort him out and send him home. Predictably, he'd cried and I, for a few minutes of that time, sat with an arm round his shoulder and let him get on with his grief. I told this story to the lady from the SS and she said, 'never do that again'. She set out the alternatives (it would apparently be fine if I were female, so go find one) but to this day I'd say what I said then. I can't promise to do that. Sometimes the emotion of the moment is more than the rule of law.
Anyway, having got that off my chest, I think my point is to those who don't understand how a simple accusation can ruin a life, and in particular, how rumour burns like dry paper in the wind. Does the risk of prosecution for false accusation prevent genuine cases from coming forward? I don't see why.
