False accusers targeted by Bristol lawmaker

Those convicted of filing false accusations with the police should wind up on an online false accuser registry, says a Bristol lawmaker.
“People should be able to easily find out who has falsely accused someone of a crime,” said state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat who has represented the 31st District since 1992.
Colapietro said Tuesday that he would like to be able to look up names easily to find out if anyone nearby has lodged fake criminal charges in the past.
For instance, he said, if a woman next door was on the register, he would avoid her.
“I don’t want to talk to you for fear you’ll say I raped you,” Colapietro said.
The registry, he said, “would allow anyone to know who’s living next door to you or upstairs from you.”
The only online registry the state currently operates lists sex offenders. All sorts of violent criminals, drug dealers and other lawbreakers are not placed on an online registry, though there are occasional calls to add some of them, too.
The veteran senator said he asked the judiciary committee to take up the cause of exposing false accusers because new legislation this year can only come through committee channels.
He said he knows the odds of the panel taking up the issue this session are low, but he hopes the committee will allow a public hearing on it.
Colapietro said legislative colleagues should “at least bring it up for discussion.”
It doesn’t appear that any other state has a similar registry. A few privately operated websites across the country list some people who have allegedly made false accusations of child abuse or rape, typically as part of a domestic dispute.
Colapietro said he was warned that some women’s rights groups might not like his idea, but he still thinks it has merit.
He said that false accusers exist across a spectrum of crimes. One example, he said, is when a group of teenagers are in a car accident and they each point to others as the driver, hoping to avoid responsibility themselves.
“It’s not just women. It’s all kinds of people,” Colapietro said.
It’s difficult to say how many Connecticut residents are convicted of filing false accusations. The statistics are not readily available.
Under existing state law, knowingly giving information related to an actual occurrence that is false is considered a class A misdemeanor. Those convicted of crime in the second degree serve a maximum of one year in prison.
“The penalty for making a false accusation is not steep enough,” Colapietro said.
“We need to make sure that, when a person suffers because someone made a false accusation about them, at the end of the day they get justice under our law,” he said.
The senator said the registry will help the public and “also help to deter people from making false accusations and help to affirm those people who are truly victims and are seeking help from law enforcement officials.”
“If you falsely accuse somebody, then you ought to be on the list,” Colapietro said.

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com