Being Accused Of Hitting A Child

[Thunderchild]

A few months ago I befriended a young lady on a dating website. She had just split up with her husband and was looking for some friends who were not mutual to her husband. I saw her a couple of times before meeting her daughter who was nearly 4. We go along well, her mum was surprised she took to me so well.

The first time we went to an event together with her daughter we were spotted by a mutual friend of her husband's who promptly informed him that he had seen her with me and the child. That evening after I left he came round and created a ruckus forcing his way into the house yelling and shouting and telling his wife that she was not to take their child out with a "stranger" I was no more a stranger than his own girlfriend. Apparently the neighbour intervened and told him to go away or she would call the police. I suggested to her that she should inform the police of what had happened as clearly this would be the beginning of a trend. We were not even going out together after all I was simply a friend.

The next weekend we went to the local country park together for a picnic and when my friends daughter spoke to her father on the phone that evening told him about me coming along and it was clear she had enjoyed herself probably making him jealous as he doesn't really spend much time with her.

The next thing I know my friend tells me that her husband has reported us to social services saying that she is hitting their child and is allowing me to do so also. I was fairly confident that obviously nothing would be found against either of us although it was extremely irritating.

I was forthcoming with my contact details so that the person from social services could contact me if she wished to which she did. When she called I asked her to explain exactly what I was accused of and what the process was as it is not exactly something I go through on a day-to-day basis. She assured me that I had not even been named but that as I had "being seeing a lot of this little girl" they would like to run a check just to be safe. I just laughed and told her to get on with it as it is I am often checked for voluntary work that I do with vulnerable people. Considering I had not been named in any accusations she then went on to asked me about my relationship with the child and seemed fairly interested in the general circumstances of me knowing the girls mother.

When I spoke to the girls mother later she told me that they were very interested in me so clearly I was lied to by social services and direct accusations had been made. Yes I had probably not been named in full because he probably doesn't know my name except for my first name as obviously that is what his daughter calls me quite rightly. I would be inclined to go after this person for defamation as he knew very well that what he was saying was false just the same as many other accusations and reports he had made against his wife were also false. I resent my taxpayer money being used in this way to investigate me just to satisfy somebody's ego.

My question is where do I actually stand, social services would not tell me what had been said and all evidence rests with them. How do I go about getting out of social services what was actually said about me and is it worth trying to take this person to court? I essentially would like to make my point because this person will carry on making accusations to try and get his own way and he needs to understand that he can't do that and the system needs to have a record of the fact that he is not a reliable witness.

I don't know what social services procedures are but I feel that I have been hard done by by social services. If I am accused of something I should have every right to know what that is. If they were simply being cautious they should be interviewing every single person this little girl has ever come into contact with including her own grandparents. I was never even left alone with her!

[Peter Pedant]

erm not quite eddie

govt agencies are obliged er by statute to have a publication scheme
and this is the one for the Northern ireland Doss for example

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/foi.htm

and also these answers are ALL predicated on TC's contention that the there is no safety issue

[Peter Pedant]

// This guy never met or saw me.//

and they dont know your name either
then there is no basis at all for doing anything at all

// but I feel that I have been hard done by by social services.//

with the new info
they havent done anything to you at all: you have no come back

[EDDIE51]

As your link says
' You have a right of access to that information '' Subject to certain exemptions''
That is the key! The SS make up their own rules as to 'exemptions' and they won't even tell you what the 'exemptions' are!

[Thunderchild]

Well anything specific to me will be limited as most stuff can be put under the heading of "guy who we only know first name of and who cannot be reliably identified as being the person spoken to"

[Peter Pedant]

ed if they refuse a data access request they have to

[ they may not tell you in advance - but one of the reasons for that would be that your request wouldnt be a data access request ]