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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.
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.
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