Harassment/"Revenge Porn"

If there is proof that a CPS report was made (or threatened to be made) maliciously, it could be possible that the act would come under a crime such as harassment. And, if the state’s law lists harassment as grounds for getting a protection order, perhaps a threat to falsely call CPS may be part of a pattern of harassment that can be grounds for filing for a protective order. You can read about protection orders on our website (LINK TO THE DV ORDER IF IT’S INTIMATE PARTNER BUT ONLY IF IT LISTS HARASSMENT AS A GROUND – IF NOT, LINK TO THE HARASSMENT ORDER IF THERE IS ONE). Alternatively, if a threat to make a false report to CPS was specifically made in order to try to prevent the victim of abuse from leaving the relationship, this could fall under a crime of coercion if there is such a crime in the state. Sometimes coercion is also a ground for a protection order. [NOTE: LOOK ON THE CRIMES PAGE TO READ THE DEFINITIONS OF HARASSMENT AND COERCION AND IF YOU THINK EITHER MAY FIT, LINK TO THEM HERE]

However, it may be very hard for a person to prove that the threat to call CPS or an actual false report made to CPS was not due to a valid concern for the children. Also, it is hard to prove who is the person who made the threat because this is generally not publicly accessible information. Sometimes, this could be proven because the abuser will make a clear threat to falsely call CPS in a text or voicemail. Other times, this could be shown by what’s called “circumstantial evidence.” This means that the circumstances surrounding the CPS report would support the theory that the report was made maliciously. For example, let’s say a mom applies for child support and has proof that the dad was served with the petition at 12 PM, and then a threat to call CPS or an actual CPS report was made at 12:01 PM. This could indicate to a judge that the call was made out of revenge and not out of real fear for the children’s safety.

Something else to consider is that if a person maliciously calls CPS, the victim of that malicious report may be able to sue the person in small claims court for money damages for the emotional distress caused. But again, they’d have to prove to a judge that the call was not made out of legitimate concern but rather that it was made to purposefully and maliciously harm the petitioner. And they’d have to prove that it was the abuser who made the threat. You can read more about small claims court on our Suing an Abuser for Money page. [HYPERLINK]

You may want to talk to a lawyer about your situation to get advice based on the specifics of your situation. We link to free and paid lawyers on our Finding a Lawyer page.[HYPERLINK]