The allegations against L.B., made by an anonymous caller at 4:45 a.m. that day, were false. These included that she was a stripper (she worked at a home for people with disabilities); that she used drugs (none were found, and a drug test was negative for all substances); and that an abusive man lived with her and that she owned “machine guns” (after an exhaustive search and interrogation, both claims were deemed baseless).

In fact, L.B. has never been found to have committed any type of child maltreatment, ACS and court records show.

Yet the anonymous caller, whom L.B. believes to be a former acquaintance with a grudge, has continued to dial in to New York’s state child welfare hotline. Each time, this person or possibly people make outlandish, often already-disproven claims about her, seeming to know that doing so will automatically trigger a government intrusion into her domestic life.

And ACS obliges: Over the past three years, the agency either has inspected her home or examined and questioned her son at school more than two dozen times. Caseworkers have sought a warrant for only three of these searches, most recently in August. All of those requests have been rejected by judges, according to court records.

  • Venat0r@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 year ago

    You’d think the police would investigate the person making the claims for wasting police time…

    • GladiusB@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 year ago

      Would you risk it if a child is involved? I’m not saying your wrong. But it’s worth noting that they are there for the the thousands of children that are being abused. Which still happens and people brush anything under the carpet.

      • lad@programming.dev
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        1 year ago

        Risk what exactly in this case of more than two dozens of checks having been performed? Her file is probably thicker than a hand and some of ACS workers should know it by heart by this time.

        • GladiusB@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          1 year ago

          You don’t want to hear it but there are those out there that can get through the system a shocking amount of times. But sure. Keep voting me down for answering the why that the OP asked.