A young man who is my relative was once framed by a girl who claimed that he had impregnated her. The accusation was complicated by family politics. The girl's elder brother and the young man's elder brother were sworn enemies. Ironically, the girl's elder sister was married to the young man's elder brother, making the two families in-laws.
One day, the underage girl became pregnant. For the benefit of the half-educated and perpetually outraged feminists, I should add that the young man was also a teenager at the time.
This happened before the recent High Court ruling on consensual sexual relationships between teenagers. Back then, being a teenage boy accused in such circumstances was almost a death sentence. It was also a convenient way for older men to settle scores through their children.
The boy was arrested and taken to court. My father tried to intervene and encourage an out-of-court settlement because of the close family ties between the two families. However, the girl's elder brother, who was acting as her guardian, would hear none of it.
The case proceeded to trial. The boy firmly denied having any sexual relationship with the girl. The girl, on the other hand, insisted that he was the father of the child. To establish the truth, the court turned to science and ordered a DNA test.
The alleged father, the baby, and the mother were escorted to a laboratory for testing.
About three weeks later, the results were released: the alleged father was excluded as the biological father of the child.
Great news. Fantastic news. The accusation was false.
That outcome left me wondering: how many innocent men may have suffered convictions or imprisonment because of false accusations that were never subjected to scientific scrutiny?