7th-July-2008
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Psychic's vision sets off sex-abuse probe | |
Psychic's vision sets off sex-abuse probe http://www.nationalpost.com/most_pop...html?id=597195
Adrian Humphreys, National Post Published: Thursday, June 19, 2008 Quote:
A Barrie mother of an autistic girl is considering legal action against her local school board after a psychic's prediction to a special educational assistant sparked a sexual abuse report to the Children's Aid Society.
"I'm in shock," said Colleen Leduc, 38. "They reported me to Children's Aid because of a psychic. Can you imagine?"
The damaging allegations were resolved by child welfare authorities relatively quickly, but the case highlights the difficult and sometimes clumsy outcome of zero-tolerance policies and mandatory reporting regulations regarding child sexual abuse.
The ordeal for Ms. Leduc began on Friday, May 30.
When she picked up her 11-year-old daughter, Victoria, at Terry Fox Elementary School that afternoon, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she said. Victoria was one of six children with autism enrolled in a special education class that is supervised by a teacher and four educational assistants (EAs).
Shortly after arriving home, Ms. Leduc received a phone call from Victoria's teacher.
"The teacher said you have to come back to school right away -- it's urgent. My heart was racing," said Ms. Leduc, who went back to the school and met with the teacher, vice-principal and principal.
"The teacher looked at me and said: 'We have to tell you something. We have to tell you that Victoria's EA went to see a psychic and the psychic asked her if she works with a little girl with the initial V. When the EA said yes, the psychic said, 'Well, you need to know that this girl is being sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26.'"
The school officials then gave Ms. Leduc a list of behaviours that Victoria was exhibiting.
"You must remember that Victoria has severe autism and is entering puberty so she is exhibiting behaviours that are very common with children of this age but, being autistic and not having been taught otherwise, she will exhibit these behaviours in public," Ms. Leduc said.
The list included putting her hands down her pants, spitting, seeking to sit on cold objects and gyrating against staff members.
"The principal looks at me and says, 'We've called CAS.' Then I got sick to my stomach.
"I challenged them and asked if the other children in the class with autism exhibited these behaviours. They said, 'Oh yes, all the time.' But they were not reported to the CAS because they didn't have the psychic's tip."
Ms. Leduc credits the Children's Aid Society of Simcoe County for its handling of the matter. She said on the following Monday she met with a CAS worker, who quickly decided to close the case.
"She said to me: 'This was an open file, but it is now a shut file. This is ridiculous. I can't believe they are basing this on a psychic, and I'm sorry this happened to you.'"
The CAS did not return phone calls yesterday. The Simcoe County District School Board confirmed the CAS has closed its file on the matter.
Lindy Zaretsky, the board's superintendent in charge of special education programs, said she could not discuss the circumstances of a specific case.
"School staff and administrators have a duty to report, under the Child and Family Services Act when there is suspected abuse and if they believe there is reasonable grounds. However, it is the CAS that weighs any package of evidence and they make the determination whether to proceed with an investigation," said Dr. Zaretsky.
"I can say that historical and current and future practice from the board's position is that psychic readings are not regarded as evidence," she said.
The case reflects some of the difficulties with prevailing policies on child abuse that adopt a zero-tolerance approach.
"We have this policy in place that when in doubt, call and report," said Peter Dudding, executive director of the Child Welfare League of Canada, an organization promoting the protection of vulnerable children.
There is still room, however, for common sense under zero tolerance, he said.
"The law talks about 'reasonable and probable grounds' to believe something -- those are really legal terms for showing common sense.
"I have to tell you that at first blush, hearing that the basis of the report is a psychic doesn't sound like it falls within the realm of reportable child abuse," he said.
Ms. Leduc said she is considering her legal options and remains disappointed that the school has not contacted her to apologize. She has not had Victoria return to school since that May 30 meeting.
She can only assume that the closing of the file by CAS ends the school's concerns, said Ms. Leduc.
"Unless they take out a Ouija board and decide to do something else. They might want to take out a Ouija board or hold a seance, I'm not sure."
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