Q: When I was 16 years old in 1988 I had a spiteful individual file a child abuse complaint against me. Now it's come back
The case went nowhere after their "investigation". Now all these years later it's come back to haunt me. In fact it seems as if it has been refreshed with my current name and address.
Shouldn't this have been sealed since I was a minor at the time? Why should it be allowed to be held against me again after all these years?
A:
As a general rule, a criminal charge for child abuse that did not result in a conviction cannot be used against you in court.
As a general rule, even a conviction for child abuse that happened that long ago cannot be used against you in court because it is too remote in time. An exception to that rule might be if the abuse had an unusual signature characteristic that is alleged to have been repeated by you in whatever current assertion is being made against you.
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