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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Earth Shattering Precident - Ontario child sent to USA for PA "de-programming"

Historic Canadain legal decision 
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Judge rules father brainwashed son into hating his mother 
KIRK MAKIN 
May 15, 2008 at 7:23 PM EDT 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080515.wcustody16/BNStory/National/home/ 

TORONTO — A 13-year-old Ontario boy whose domineering father 
systematically brainwashed him into hating his mother can be flown 
against his will to a U.S. facility that deprograms children who 
suffer from parental alienation, an Ontario Superior Court judge has 
ruled. 

Mr. Justice James Turnbull ordered the boy – identified only as LS – 
into the custody of his mother. He said that the boy urgently needs 
professional intervention to reverse the father's attempt to poison 
his mind toward his mother and, in all probability, to women in 
general. 

"There will probably be future significant problems experienced by LS 
if the court does not intervene – including significant personal guilt 
for his part in the rejection of his mother, anger towards women, and 
dysfunctional relationships with women," Judge Turnbull said. 

The judge flatly refused to take the boy's opinion on the therapy into 
account, saying that LS cannot exercise "free discretion in expressing 
his views" because of the influence his father has had on him. 

Judge Turnbull observed that the father, 54, has repeatedly breached 
court orders granting the mother limited access to her son. He said 
that the boy has come to perceive himself and his father as 
"intertwined and unable to distinguish one's thoughts from the 
other." 

As part of his campaign of absolute control over LS, the father 
dictated toxic e-mails for the boy to send to his mother. He also 
removed photographs of the mother from her son's bedroom. 

Judge Turnbull also noted that in 2005, the father pursued an assault 
charge against the mother. As a result, LS, at the age of 10, was 
required to testify against her in criminal court. 

"Frankly, the exercise of such parental indiscretion stuns this 
court," Judge Turnbull said, adding that the mother was acquitted. 
Jeffery Wilson, the mother's lawyer, said Thursday that the case is a 
breakthrough for parents attempting to win back children who have been 
intentionally alienated from them. 

"This is a precedent in Canada – the first time a Canadian court has 
recognized the lack of resources to deal with the disease of parental 
alienation and answered it with a private remedy – the Family Workshop 
for Alienated Children," Mr. Wilson said. 

"The age of a child is no reason to justify a lost opportunity to know 
and benefit from both of the child's parents," he added.   In his 
ruling, Judge Turnbull praised the work of the FWAC and urged the 
Ontario government to encourage similar programs. 

According to evidence at the hearing from Dr. Richard Warshak, a 
founder of the FWAC, many children are so set against participating in 
a program that reunites them with a hated parent that they have to be 
transported by police or probation officers – sometimes in 
restraints. 

"In the case at bar, Dr. Warshak has suggested that LS would travel to 
the United States with transport agents on one flight, and his mother 
would follow closely on another flight," Judge Turnbull noted in his 
ruling. 

Dr. Warshak said that sessions focus on teaching children to assess 
their domestic situation critically, and to appreciate that both of 
their parents are essential to their well-being. 

Sessions, which typically last from three to seven days, lean heavily 
on video presentations, intensive discussion with psychologists, and 
opportunities for the child and his or her alienated parent to 
interact. 

Upon returning home, children receive after-care from a local 
psychologist. After several months, the child is usually ready to 
commence a relationship with the parent who caused the alienation. 

The parents in the LS case married in 1982 and separated in 2005. LS 
was placed in the primary custody of his father, a salesman. 

The father changed phone numbers, ignored e-mails and left the mother 
– a 49-year-old who works in public relations – with no alternative 
but to drive to arenas where her son's sports teams were playing in 
hopes of getting a glimpse of him. 

The mother launched court action last year in an attempt to win sole 
custody of the boy. After a nine-day hearing last fall, Judge Turnbull 
reserved his decision. 

He said that an e-mail the mother received in late 2006 was indicative 
of the father's control over the boy. "I don't want to see you and I 
never will want to see you ever again and who do you think you are to 
say my dad makes my distions (sic)," it said. "I MAKE MY DISITIONS. 
GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD. If I want to see your side of the family, I 
will call them." 

A child psychiatrist who assessed the father, Dr. George Award, said 
in a report that he was a mistrustful, autocratic woman-hater who 
"built a demonic image" of his ex-wife and turned his son into his 
entire social life. 

See Comments: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080515.wcustody16/CommentStory/National/home#comments

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