I was called in for questioning regarding a sexual abuse investigation involving my daughter. Both myself and my fiance are now the prime suspects, because they say my 3 year old daughter has specifically said our name in association with sexual acts that she was questioned about. I know very well that me and my fiance have NOT touched her or done anything of a sexual nature with her in any way at any point in time. We are still, however, being "alleged" as they kept saying, as being in the wrong and that we have, in fact, done SOMETHING to make her say this about us. This has happened so fast with no warning whatsoever. Just last weekend we had my daughter and she was acting normally, nothing wrong whatsoever, with no indication that something was wrong. There have been incidents in the past where I've been informed she has acted strangely and knows things she shouldn't at her age. I myself have noticed a few things in the past that didn't seem right, and always went to my ex (her mother) directly to discuss it, and the conversation always ended in "It must be just a phase, hopefully it will just stop" But now we are being accused of performing sexual acts with my 3 year old daughter. We have no idea how to handle this situation, and we are shocked and very hurt about this matter. After being interrogated for over 4 hours by a detective, we were still told "they did not believe us, that we know or have done something that we are just not telling them." We are poor, and have been in the process of looking for employment, trying desperately to get our lives and bills back on track, and this has come at the worst possible time for us to try and defend ourselves. We cannot afford an attorney, and I feel with the nature of this investigation, a court appointed attorney will not suffice. As far as I know from what I've been told, The only "evidence" they have against us is what my daughter has said. At the end of the interrogation, the last thing we were asked is if we would agree to take a polygraph test. Knowing nothing about them, we of course agreed not knowing the full extent of what a polygraph test is other than a "lie detector test." Upon further research, I've been quite bothered by the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of innocent people that take these tests in criminal cases and fail, even though they are telling the complete truth! I cannot risk my future, and my reputation, on a invalid test that is in itself, a lie. We are very scared that no matter the results, producing a false-positive polygraph test may scar our reputation, and in turn lead us into a false conviction of child molestation abuse and end our lives essentially.
My question is, after reading a book (in .pdf format) called "The Lie About The Lie Detector Test," the book advises that, if asked to take a polygraph test, that we should "Just say no" and decline. That taking this test, whether pass or fail, will NOT convince nor stop the investigation from trying to convict us of a crime. In fact, FAILING the test for any reason, may put us in the local media, and no matter what the outcome, scar our reputation, making it hard to find a job, buy a house, etc. What is our legal stand on this? What course of action should we take to avoid a 50% chance false-positive polygraph that has the potential to ruin our lives no matter the outcome in court? I am aware that a polygraph cannot be used in the court of law to determine conviction in a criminal case, but will declining the test from this point on cause us to have a better chance to be convicted? We've already agreed to the test as of yesterday during interrogation, but after reading more about it I would rather not risk my reputation. Where do we stand? Please help!
My question is, after reading a book (in .pdf format) called "The Lie About The Lie Detector Test," the book advises that, if asked to take a polygraph test, that we should "Just say no" and decline. That taking this test, whether pass or fail, will NOT convince nor stop the investigation from trying to convict us of a crime. In fact, FAILING the test for any reason, may put us in the local media, and no matter what the outcome, scar our reputation, making it hard to find a job, buy a house, etc. What is our legal stand on this? What course of action should we take to avoid a 50% chance false-positive polygraph that has the potential to ruin our lives no matter the outcome in court? I am aware that a polygraph cannot be used in the court of law to determine conviction in a criminal case, but will declining the test from this point on cause us to have a better chance to be convicted? We've already agreed to the test as of yesterday during interrogation, but after reading more about it I would rather not risk my reputation. Where do we stand? Please help!
