"CPSWs, supervisors and managers are not to use polygraph results in determining whether to indicate an alleged perpetrator. Polygraphs are not reliable and the results are inadmissible in all legal proceedings. Department staff are not to request or seek polygraph results nor are they to consider any polygraph results which they may receive unsolicited."

I am currently researching my rights as someone falsely accused of child molestation and I came across the above paragraph on the DCFS site.

I find it interesting that the investigator asked me to take a polygraph, but any indication that I am telling the truth will not help my cause one bit.  But you can damn sure bet that a DECEPTIVE result will put me in the penitentiary.  Here is the site I took the paragraph from:

http://www.prairienet.org/dcfs-project/investigation/investigation-05.html

Thanks for the reply and the information.

While CPSW doesn't decide if I will be charged or not (I pray to God that I am not) they do decide if my children will be removed from my home or if I will have to leave the home pending the results of their investigation.

As a little background...I was initially contacted by a CAC investigator over a month ago and asked to come in for questioning which I did willingly.  The shocking and devastating news that I had been accused of something so heinous has left me emotionally and financially drained, marked as a pariah in my neighborhood and unable to focus on my work.

Of course DCFS made the requisite visit to my home that same day a month ago, at which time it was suggested that I have no unsupervised contact with my children.  Hearing this was the most devastatingly painful experience of my life.  I immediately broke down and began sobbing...something I have never done in my life.  I think I may have caught the DCFS worker somewhat offguard.

A month later they finally called my kids in for an interview at the CAC.  The investigators commented to my wife afterward that my children are happy and well-adjusted and are absolutely fine.  The senior investigator went so far as to label my 4 year old daughter a "spitfire", which I took to mean that he saw her as the rest of the world sees her...precocious and outgoing and confident.  Only later did I learn that this could work AGAINST me.

So now I wait...waiting to see if DCFS is going to completely destroy my family life...waiting to see if I will be charged with a crime....they have served a warrant at my home and confiscated all of my computer equipment, leaving me unable to work...and I have no recourse.

How this applies to POLYGRAPHY...

I was asked to take a polygraph by the investigators.  I said I would take one pending advice from a lawyer.  Of course each of the four lawyers that I spoke with told me that under no circumstances should I take a polygraph with their examiner.  They all suggested that I take one independently which I am doing.

I am also in the unique position of having a friend who was an investigator with the DOD and CIA for nearly 30 years.  He said I would have to be nuts to take a polygraph, but of course I feel compelled to submit to one just so I don't look guilty for refusing, even though the results are not admissible.  I stand to gain nothing by passing since the investigation is targeting me alone and will not go away, but I stand to lose everything if I get a false-positive.

I didn't come here to learn how to "beat" the polygraph.  I came here to learn about the process, the accuracy, etc. and what I have read terrifies me.

Since the police examiner is not unbiased, a test resulting in no deception indicated or inconclusive will result in allegations of using countermeasures, or he will try to trick me into saying something by saying my test indicates that I had trouble with a particular question.  NO SHIT I HAD TROUBLE WITH A QUESTION...MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF MY FAMILY DEPEND ON THE OUTCOME OF THAT ONE QUESTION!!!!

What state or DCPS jurisdiction are you refering to in this matter?

The People's Republic of Illinois.