Missouri False Accusation Law: Penalties, Defenses, and Lawsuits

Under Missouri false accusation law, knowingly reporting a crime that did not happen or falsely implicating someone in an offense is a Class B misdemeanor under Section 575.080, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. False bomb reports jump to a Class E felony with up to four years in prison, and lying under oath about a criminal matter is prosecuted separately as perjury. The person falsely accused has civil options too, including suits for malicious prosecution and defamation, and someone wrongfully convicted because of a false accusation may qualify for state compensation.

What Missouri Treats as a False Accusation

Section 575.080 covers three distinct ways of committing the offense, and each one requires that the person acted knowingly. A mistake, a bad guess, or a sincere but wrong identification is not enough.

Giving false information to any person for the purpose of implicating someone in an offense. The information does not have to go to police. Telling a neighbor, an employer, or a family member counts if the goal is to pin a crime on someone.
Making a false report to a law enforcement officer that a crime has occurred or is about to occur. Calling in a burglary that never happened is the textbook example.
Making or causing a false report to police, security officers, fire departments, or any organization that handles emergencies, claiming that a fire or other danger to life or property has occurred or is imminent.

The statute does not require the false information to be “material” or to have actually changed an investigation’s outcome. Prosecutors only have to prove the person knowingly provided false information for one of the purposes above.¹

Criminal Penalties the Accuser Faces

A violation of Section 575.080 is a Class B misdemeanor no matter what the false report caused. The charge does not escalate if the accusation led to an arrest, a search, or hours of wasted investigation.¹

A Class B misdemeanor carries up to six months in a county jail² and a maximum fine of $1,000.³ A court may impose jail, a fine, or both, and probation is possible on a first offense. The number that matters longer than the sentence is the conviction itself. A misdemeanor record shows up on background checks and can reach into employment, housing, and professional licensing decisions for years.

When a False Accusation Becomes a Felony

Two situations pull a false accusation out of misdemeanor territory.

The first is a false bomb report. Under Section 575.090, knowingly reporting or causing someone to report that a bomb or other explosive has been placed in any public or private place or vehicle is a Class E felony.⁴ A Class E felony carries up to four years in state prison² and fines up to $10,000.⁵ A prank call that clears out a school or office building can put the caller in prison.

The second is perjury. Lying under oath in an official proceeding is prosecuted under Section 575.040, which does require that the false statement be about a material fact. The penalties climb with what is at stake:

In proceedings not involving a felony charge, perjury is a Class E felony carrying up to four years in prison.
In proceedings that do involve a felony charge, it is a Class D felony carrying up to seven years.
Perjury committed to secure a felony conviction other than murder is a Class B felony with up to 15 years.
Perjury committed to secure a murder conviction is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison.

Even the lowest tier of perjury is a felony.⁶

Defenses to a False Report Charge

Missouri gives defendants a narrow retraction defense under Section 575.080. If the person took the false statement back before law enforcement or anyone else took substantial action in reliance on it, that is a valid defense. Once police have started investigating, executed a search, or made an arrest, retraction is off the table. The defendant carries the burden of raising the defense by putting evidence forward; the prosecution does not have to disprove retraction unless the defendant first puts it at issue.¹ Perjury has a parallel retraction defense under Section 575.040 for a witness who takes back false testimony during the same proceeding, before the lie is exposed.⁶

Beyond retraction, three defenses come up most often:

Lack of knowledge. The statute requires that the person acted knowingly. A sincere belief that the information was true, even if wrong, is not a false report. This is often the strongest defense, though prosecutors will point to circumstances suggesting the person knew otherwise.
No prohibited purpose. For the implicating-another-person prong, the state must prove the false information was given “for the purpose of implicating another person in an offense.” Providing false information for some other reason, even a bad one, does not fit that specific version of the crime.
Duress or coercion. A defendant may argue the report was not voluntary because someone else threatened or pressured them into making it. This requires solid evidence.

How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges

A Section 575.080 charge is a misdemeanor, so prosecutors generally have one year from the date of the offense to file under Missouri’s misdemeanor limitations period.⁷ If the year passes without charges, prosecution is typically barred. A false bomb report under Section 575.090 is a felony and carries a longer window; Missouri generally allows three years for felonies unless a specific exception applies.

Suing the Person Who Falsely Accused You

Criminal prosecution of the accuser is not the only remedy. Someone falsely accused can bring a civil suit, and the financial exposure in a civil case often exceeds anything a criminal court would order.

Malicious Prosecution

Missouri recognizes malicious prosecution as a civil claim when someone instigates or continues baseless legal proceedings. The plaintiff must prove the defendant started or kept the proceeding going, the proceeding ended in the plaintiff’s favor, the defendant acted without reasonable grounds and with malice, and the plaintiff suffered damages. Missouri courts define malice here as intentionally doing a wrongful act without just cause or excuse, and they require strict and clear proof of every element because these claims are not favored in the law. A case that was legitimately investigated but ended without a conviction does not meet the standard. The plaintiff must show the accuser had no reasonable basis and was not motivated by a genuine belief that a crime occurred.

Defamation

Falsely accusing someone of a crime can also support a defamation suit. Falsely accusing a person of a serious crime is typically treated as defamation per se, so the plaintiff does not have to prove specific financial losses; damage to reputation is presumed from the nature of the accusation. Damages can include harm to reputation, emotional distress, and lost income, and punitive damages are available in egregious cases.

Cleaning Up an Arrest Record

An arrest record exists even when charges are dropped or a case is dismissed, and it can appear on background checks run by employers, landlords, and licensing boards. Missouri’s expungement statute, Section 610.140, applies only to certain offenses and requires a waiting period of at least ten years for misdemeanors after the person has finished any sentence or probation.⁸ Clearing an arrest tied to a false accusation is possible, but it takes time.

If a False Accusation Led to a Conviction

Missouri provides compensation to people later determined to be actually innocent. Under Section 650.058, the state pays $179 per day of wrongful incarceration, capped at $65,000 per fiscal year.⁹ At $179 per day, one full year of wrongful imprisonment works out to roughly $65,335 before the annual cap applies, so someone who spent years in prison receives payments spread across many fiscal years.

For federal wrongful convictions, 28 U.S.C. § 2513 caps damages at $100,000 per year of incarceration for those sentenced to death and $50,000 per year for all other cases.¹⁰ These statutes cannot restore lost years, but they set out what the state owes someone it wrongly imprisoned.

1
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 575.080 – False Reports – Penalty
2
Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.011 – Sentence of Imprisonment, Terms – Conditional Release
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 558.002 – Fines for Offenses
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 575.090 – False Bomb Report – Penalty
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Missouri State Senate. Missouri Senate Bill 491 Summary
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 575.040 – Perjury
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 556.036 – Time Limitations for Commencement of Prosecutions
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 610.140 – Expungement of Certain Records
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Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 650.058 – Wrongful Conviction Compensation
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2513 – Unjust Conviction and Imprisonment