B.C. woman sues parents, province over allegations of sexual abuse
Credit to Author: Keith Fraser| Date: Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:57:42 +0000
A woman is suing her parents and the B.C. government over allegations she was sexually assaulted and that social workers did not conduct a proper investigation.
The woman was just under three years old in October 2001 when social workers and RCMP opened an investigation of her parents regarding a complaint made by an unknown individual alleging that she and her sisters needed protection from potential emotional harm and sexual abuse, according to the B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit.
The mother of the girl was interviewed by social workers and indicated that the family engaged in “nude rituals,” that she and her husband shared a bedroom with the sisters and that the children witnessed the couple having sex, says the lawsuit.
During the investigation, “sources from the community” told social workers that the father stated that he would be the first person to have sexual intercourse with the girls, the lawsuit claims.
A risk assessment from April 2002 had social workers reporting that there was insufficient information available to assess a number of things including the severity of abuse due to the fact that the children had been removed from the community and were being home-schooled by the parents, says the lawsuit.
Social workers remained concerned that the father might be abusing the children but could not prove allegations from members of the community that the dad was an “evil man” and allegedly involved with drugs and engaging in immoral sexual practices.
The social workers reported that there were concerns the children, including the plaintiff, were socially isolated and that despite there being cause for “grave concern,” there was no actual evidence of abuse and on April 23, 2002, the first investigation was closed, according to the lawsuit.
Four years later, in April 2006, social workers and RCMP opened another investigation into similar allegations as well as a suggestion that the conduct was related to a religious sect and a temple in the home where ceremonies were conducted, that the sisters were controlled in how they would think and that they had to walk around the family home naked, says the suit.
The mother was arrested and the children were removed and placed in the home of foster parents with the provincial director of Child, Family and Community Services assuming guardianship over the plaintiff.
Two weeks later, the father, who had been away from the family home at the time the children were removed, was himself arrested. In December 2010 the father was convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault relating to the arrest and sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in August 2013.
The lawsuit claims that during the time the plaintiff lived in the family home, the parents repeatedly sexually assaulted her and exposed her to “ritualistic” sexual practices involving the temple in the home.
It says the parents owed a duty of care to the plaintiff and breached that duty of care.
The director should have known that the plaintiff was at risk and in need of protection on account of the parents’ history with the ministry and breached the duty of care and was negligent by failing to remove the plaintiff from the home prior to 2006, says the suit.
The plaintiff, who is now 20 years old, claims that she has suffered developmental delay, mental distress and anguish, loss of dignity and self-esteem, humiliation and embarrassment and lasting psychological and emotional trauma.
The lawsuit also claims that the plaintiff endured mental suffering at the hands of a foster parent who cared for her from 2006 to 2015. It alleges the director was also negligent in failing to intercede in that case.
No response to the suit has yet been filed and the allegations have not been tested in court.
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