by shadylady » Mon Aug 06, 2018 6:31 am
Over the weekend I heard an interesting story about how the polygraph was wrong twice in a single investigation. A little girl claimed that a school janitor had molested her at her house while doing repairs for the family. So, detectives hooked the girl (who was six at the time of the alleged molestation and thirteen at the time of the polygraph examination) up to the lie detector and found that she was telling the truth. Next they hauled the janitor in and the lie detector found him to be deceptive. However, further investigation revealed that the janitor had not moved into the area and taken the job at the school until the girl was nearly eight. When a friend of the girl came forward with a story about the girl's uncle, it became apparent that the girl had a false memory where she confused the janitor with the uncle, possibly because it was less painful to believe that it was the uncle and to put the blame on the janitor. The janitor, of course, failed the polygraph test because he was fearful of losing his job. Needless to say, the janitor has filed lawsuits against the law enforcement department, the polygraph operator, and the polygraph company. Although he has been allowed to return to his duties as a janitor, he may not need that job anymore pending the outcome of the lawsuits.