Subject: C.A.S. Scandal - Please Read!

From: [email-masked] (A Concerned Citizen)
Date: 18 Oct 1994 17:19:14 GMT

"Society" Covers Up Abuses
                             C.A.S. Scandal
                 Workers' Crimes & Abuses of Authority

Part 1 of 4

This is published by (Name Censored).  No other person bears any
responsibility for the content, publication or distribution of this
material.  The publisher's name is left off not from cowardice but
because the law prohibits its publication.  Facts presented in this
document can be confirmed by documentation and by eyewitness accounts.
Reader concerns regarding the Children's Aid Society may be addressed by
telephone calls and letters to the media, your political
representatives, or Raymond J. Muldoon, C.A.S. Executive Director.  For
further information or to see documentation, the publisher may be
contacted  anytime at  (613) 546-5114.

Some Background: Three children--ages 6, 7, and 11, (names
censored)--are being placed at severe risk of serious emotional and
physical abuse through malicious, irresponsible and often criminal
actions of several workers and supervisors employed at the Children's
Aid Society for the City of Kingston and County of Frontenac.  More
criminal than this abuse of authority by individuals is the determined
effort by Children's Aid Society management to cover up these abuses of
authority by their employees rather than to intervene and protect the
children involved and the scandalous resistance of the Ministry of
Community and Social Services and the Attorney General to intervene to
protect this and other families.

From (eldest boy's name censored)'s birth he was verbally, emotionally
and physically abused by his mother, (name censored), while his father
was not at home.  Because the mother was careful to leave no marks and
because both (eldest boy's name censored) and his mother kept the abuse
their own secret, (eldest boy's name censored)'s father, (name
censored), did not discover the abuse until (eldest boy's name censored)
was almost five years old.  At that time, (father's name censored)
returned home from work to learn (mother's name censored) had thrown
(eldest boy's name censored) across the room into a wall.  Believing
(mother's name censored)'s claim this was the first and only incident,
(father's name censored) did not report it.   Only days later, (father's
name censored) returned home to learn (mother's name censored) had
twisted (eldest boy's name censored)'s arm to near-breaking and had
tried to stuff his head down a toilet.  (Father's name censored) called
the Windsor Children's Aid Society and reported (mother's name
censored).  Over the next four years, in his compulsion to somehow
repair (mother's name censored) and to protect his three children from
her violent rages, (father's name censored) became the classic "abused
spouse" with nowhere to escape with his children.  (Mother's name
censored), who has both Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (Repressed
Memory) and Bi-Polar Affective Disorder (Manic-Depressive) became
increasingly abusive and violent.  She continued to be verbally and
emotionally abusive, especially to (eldest boy's name censored) and his
father.  On three separate occasions, (mother's name censored) attempted
to murder (father's name censored) with a large carving knife.  All this
abuse was committed in the presence of (girl's name censored) and
(youngest boy's name censored), (mother's name censored) and (father's
name censored)'s other two children.  To add to (eldest boy's name
censored)'s difficulties, from kindergarten through grade two, it is
believed he was sexually abused by a school teacher, Anthony Piccinato,
who has since been arrested and convicted of sexually abusing other
children.  In 1991, (father's name censored) rescued his three children
from their abusive home and moved to Kingston.  He arrived armed with a
detailed assessment of his family situation, prepared by Dr. Ralph
Billingsley, a psychologist at the Regional Children's Centre in
Windsor.  In it, Dr. Billingsley strongly urged that both (father's name
censored) and (boy's name censored) receive every possible support and
help from the Kingston Children's Aid Society.  Although the Kingston
Children's Aid Society had more than one copy of Dr. Billingsley's
report and had received several telephone calls from (father's name
censored), they absolutely refused him and his children any help or
support at all.  In April of 1992, (mother's name censored) moved to
Kingston.  Between late April and June of 1992, (eldest boy's name
censored) began to have i ncreasingly violent tantrums replicating his
mother's former behaviour.  Still the Children's Aid Society refused
this family any help or support.  In June of 1992, (father's name
censored) learned that (eldest boy's name censored) had been sexually
abusing (youngest boy's name censored) and attempting to involve (girl's
name censored) in this activity.  Even with his information, the
Children's Aid Society mostly refused to become involved.  (Father's
name censored) complained indignantly to Dan Devlin, a supervisor at the
Children's Aid Society, regarding the behaviour and attitudes of several
workers and blamed the Children's Aid Society that the situation had
gotten so severe.  Dan Devlin took this personally and took the first
opportunity to orchestrate a malicious campaign of libel and slander
against (father's name censored) and his children.  In this abuse of his
authority, Dan Devlin both broke the law and counselled others to break
the law.  Over the past two years, (father's name censored)'s children
have been wrongfully taken and all of his family re-victimized.  This
appears to be the standard Children's Aid Society response to questions
or criticism by a client or member of the public.  Rather than deal
responsibly with the issues, workers and management become defensive,
secretive, and punitive. A Father Seeks Help For His Kids In June 1992,
because of the risk to (eldest boy's name censored)'s siblings,
(father's name censored) placed his eldest son in residence at Sunnyside
Children's Centre with counselling and other services for all three
children to be provided by Beechgrove Children's Centre.

Worker Prompts False Allegation
        In October, 1992, angry at (father's name censored) following a
        disciplinary hearing on her handling of (eldest boy's name
        censored)'s case, Michelle Sangster, a worker at Sunnyside,
        prompted a false allegation of sexual abuse from (eldest boy's
        name censored) against his father.

C.A.S. Conflict of Interest
        To investigate the matter, Dan Devlin of the C.A.S. sent Andrew
        Jackson, a worker who knew (father's name censored) had asked
        that he be fired. Evidence shows that, interviewing (eldest
        boy's name censored),  Andrew Jackson prompted him in order to
        evoke and reinforce the allegation previously promoted by
        Michelle Sangster. Dan Devlin assigned Mike Byrne, another
        worker who knew (father's name censored) had asked that he be
        fired, to head the investigation.

Parent's Rights Violated
        Beginning October 10, 1992, Dan Devlin denied the parents access
        to their son. On October 16, 1992, Dan Devlin and Crystal
        Phinney, a close friend of Michelle Sangster and a supervisor at
        Sunnyside, by physical threat denied the parents access  either
        to their son or to  Sunnyside. No court order or other legal
        mechanism was in place to allow this extreme action.  In effect
        and in fact, these workers had kidnapped (eldest boy's name
        censored). "Everyone who, not being the parent, guardian or
        person having the lawful care or charge of a person under the
        age of fourteen years, unlawfully takes, entices away, conceals,
        detains, receives, or harbours that person with intent to
        deprive a parent or guardian or any other person who has the
        lawful care or charge of that person of the possession of that
        person is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to
        imprisonment for ten years." - Criminal Code of Canada Under
        pressure from the parents and their lawyer, Dan Devlin to cover
        up his illegal actions ordered (eldest boy's name censored)
        apprehended on October 22, 1992.

9 Year Old Held Incommunicado
        For six months, Dan Devlin did not allow (eldest boy's name
        censored) any contact with any member of his family, on either
        his mother's or his father's side. During this time, although
        she had a vested interest in maintaining the false allegations
        she had prompted from him, Michelle Sangster was allowed
        unrestricted access to (eldest boy's name censored). The boy has
        not been allowed to see or speak to his father now for more than
        two years. (Girl's name censored) and (youngest boy's name
        censored) remained living with their father as a single parent.

Kids Considered Safe By C.A.S.
        Although the C.A.S. claimed that (father's name censored) had
        very seriously sexually abused (eldest boy's name censored),
        they left these four and five year old children in his care for
        more than four months without ever checking on them, and another
        four months with minimal supervision. It seems clear that the
        false allegation was not taken seriously by the C.A.S. or they
        would never have left these young children with their father. As
        soon as they learned the C.A.S. was involved, Beechgrove without
        notice cut off all services to (father's name censored) and his
        children, effectively abandoning this family at a time of great
        need.