B.C. teen sues parents over allegations of physical and sexual abuse
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 22:21:34 +0000
A B.C. teen is suing her parents over allegations she suffered repeated sexual and physical abuse at the hands of her father and that the mother knew about it and did not report the abuse.
The teen, who is not identified by name in a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, says that she and her family moved from Alberta to Vancouver Island in 2014 and that around the same time, she was subjected to the abuse by her father.
“Particulars of such abuse include multiple incidents of sexual assault and physical assault, including beating the plaintiff with a wooden stick,” says the lawsuit. “The plaintiff was subjected to continued incidents of sexual and physical assaults by (the father) over the course of several years, all of which were known to the defendant (mother).”
The teen disclosed the abuse in November 2015 and a police investigation was conducted which resulted in police recommending charges of sexual assault, sexual interference and assault with a weapon, but no charges were ultimately laid in the case, according to the writ.
The girl, who is currently a high school student, was placed into foster care in October 2016 and is being represented in court by the Public Guardian and Trustee of B.C., an independent organization whose mandate includes protecting the legal and financial interests of children under the age of 19.
As a result of the alleged abuse, the teen claims to have suffered injuries including bruising and bleeding, soft tissue injuries, and emotional and psychological trauma.
She is seeking general damages for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, special damages for medical expenses, damage for past and future wage loss and loss of earning capacity, and damages for future care. She also wants punitive and aggravated damages.
Her lawsuit says that her father owed her a duty and breached that duty by inflicting the alleged abuse on her with his actions constituting assault and battery, and that the mother also breached her duty by allowing her father to have access to her when she knew that he posed a threat to her.
“Further, the defendant (mother) knew or ought to have known that her conduct was likely to or would injure the plaintiff and motivated entirely by her own interests, utterly disregarded the interest of the plaintiff and the effect her conduct would have on her own child.”
No response has been filed to the lawsuit, which contains allegations that have not been tested in court. Scott Stanley, a lawyer for the girl, declined comment.