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Who Needs Evidence?
Absolutely ridiculous.
That TA should be fired, tarred and feathered.
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CityNews Exclusive: The Mother, The Child, The School Board And The Psychic
Monday June 16, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
Colleen Leduc already had a lot going against her. The Barrie woman was holding down a job while struggling to raise her autistic 11-year-old daughter. She couldn't afford to give the child the intensive therapy she needed, and was forced to send her to a public school in the area.
So she was completely unprepared for what happened to her and the youngster, an almost unbelievable tale of red tape involving a strange claim from a teaching assistant, a bizarre decision by a school board, a visit from the Children's Aid Society (CAS) and most improbably of all, the incorrect pronouncements of a psychic.
Leduc's weird tale began on May 30, when she dropped young Victoria off for class at Terry Fox Elementary and headed in to work, only to receive a frantic phone call from the school telling her it was urgent she come back right away.
The frightened mother rushed back to the campus and was stunned by what she heard - the principal, vice-principal and her daughter's teacher were all waiting for her in the office, telling her they'd received allegations that Victoria had been the victim of sexual abuse - and that the CAS had been notified.
How did they come by such startling knowledge? Leduc was incredulous as they poured out their story. It appears the educational assistant who had been helping the youngster had been to a psychic. At some point, this cosmic reader had told the young teaching aide that she was in charge of a girl whose name started with the letter "V" - and the seer "saw" the child was being molested by a male aged 23-26.
Victoria, who is non-verbal, had also been exhibiting typically autistic behavior in class, including pulling at her groin, (see other typical actions here) leading authorities to suspect she had a bladder infection that may have somehow been related to the 'attack.'
School officials used that "evidence" and for some reason accepted the word of the psychic, and reported the case to Children's Aid, which promptly opened a file on the family.
Leduc, who is divorced and has a new fiancé, adamantly denied the charges, noting her daughter was never exposed to anyone of that age. And fortunately she had proof. The mother was long dissatisfied with the treatment her daughter had received at the school, after they had allegedly lost her on several occasions.
As a result, the already cash strapped mom had spent a considerable sum of money to not only have her child equipped with a GPS unit, but one that provided audio records of everything that was going on around her.
So she had non-stop taped proof that nothing untoward had ever happened to her daughter, and was aghast that the situation had gone this far. But the CAS was obligated to explore it, even after hearing the 'facts' of the case. The agency notes that once a report is called in, it has to check on it.
And so a case worker came to the Leduc home to discuss the allegations of sexual misconduct, only to admit there wasn't a shred of evidence that anything had ever happened at all. They labelled Leduc a "diligent" mother doing the best she could for her child under difficult circumstances, closed the file and left, calling the report "ridiculous."
But that wasn't the end of the story.
While the school board agrees it may have overreacted, accepted a rather dubious source and misinterpreted the signs of the so-called abuse, Leduc is now more convinced than ever that her daughter isn't safe at the campus and that she needs more intensive therapy.
As a result, she's refused to send Victoria back to class - or to the educational assistant who allegedly started the entire chain of events in the first place.
As a result of her stress, Leduc is now unable to work, has no place to send her child for the rest of the year, isn't sure where she'll go when school begins in September and is seeking legal advice.
Her goal: get the board to pay for the IBI therapy she believes her child should have had in the first place. She wants them to foot the bill for the expensive treatment - it can cost more than $50,000 annually - at least for the rest of the semester.
But school officials have refused.
What happens next in this tangled tale of money, mentalists, myths and mistakes? Education Specialist Cynthia Mulligan has spent several days talking to all sides in this incredible case and will have exclusive details on CityNews at Five and Six.
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CoR Version:
Teaching assistant gets told by psychic that a child in her class was molested, calls Children's Aid Society who launch investigation.
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If you can't be good, be careful.
"Hey look, I can make a heart-shape with my hands!!!" So Fucking what? Stop it. You're a douche.
When life gives you lemons, squirt the juice in the eyes of your enemies.
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