Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,The, August, 1995 by Kathryn A. Artingstall

In cases where an estranged parent involved in a custody dispute reports illnesses or accuses the other parent of child abuse, investigators should explore all potential motivations for such accusations. Falsified reports for custodial purposes could be a valid concern. Any investigator assigned to a potential MSBP case needs to ensure that the agency is not being used as a tool for secondary gain by the accusing parent.

In cases where reports of abuse emanate from a noncustodial or estranged parent, the question of accuser/inflictor role reversal should be considered as an alternate cause of the child's ailments. This type of issue often arises in contested divorce situations involving minor children and also might be linked to parental kidnaping by noncustodial parents.

When custody has been denied to an offending parent, and the victimized child has been placed with the other parent, the offender might go to great lengths to regain custody. Accusations of sexual abuse, especially if the custodial parent is the father, might be made by offenders as they attempt to disguise their responsibility for the child's abuse.

The underlying rationalization for the actions of MSBP offenders stems from their desire to regain lost custody through outward expressions of love. It appears that the longer offenders are separated from victims, the more desperate and determined they become to regain custody.

Domestic Violence Shelters

Suspected MSBP offenders who believe that they are being watched, have been accused of MSBP abuse, or sense the need for self-vindication might seek assistance by accessing public shelters provided for victims of domestic violence. In such cases, offenders rely on their highly developed skills of deception.

Because personnel working at these shelters function for the protection and assistance of traumatized women, they might be reluctant to question an incoming client's account of victimization. This situation highlights the need for a concrete investigative protocol when suspicion falls on an MSBP offender.

Once a woman gravitates to an abuse shelter, police access might be difficult, and the support system in the shelter will reinforce her fictitious explanation of the child's injuries or illness. While in the shelter, the victim temporarily might be spared from further injury to strengthen the mother's claim that another person is the source of the abuse. However, the child's reprieve usually ends when the offender must leave the shelter and once again is alone with the victim.

Substitute Victims

Generally, abuse of a victim at the hands of an MSBP offender is resolved in one of the three ways - the child dies, the police apprehend the offender, or the victim's advancing age causes the offender to move on to a younger child within the family. In cases where a child has either died from abuse or matured to the point that the caregiver believes it is too dangerous to continue the abuse, the offender might attempt to find another suitable victim.