Educators claim child sex abuse on word of psychic

Colleen and Victoria Leduc

Acting solely on information from a psychic, administrators at a public elementary school in Canada alerted child welfare authorities when they believed an autistic student had been sexually abused.

Colleen Leduc received a frantic call May 30 from Terry Fox Elementary School in Barrie, Ontario, after administrators suspected her 11-year-old autistic daughter, Victoria, had been molested by an adult male. Officials told her the Children's Aid Society, or CAS, had been notified of the alleged sexual abuse – though they were unable to offer any evidence to confirm their suspicions, City News of Toronto reported.

"The teacher looked at me and said: 'We have to tell you something,'" Leduc explained. "'The educational assistant who works with Victoria went to see a psychic last night, and the psychic asked the educational assistant at that particular time if she works with a little girl by the name of "V." And she said 'yes, I do.' And she said, 'well, you need to know that that child is being sexually abused by a man between the ages of 23 and 26.'"

Victoria does not speak, but administrators said she had been showing signs of sexual behavior in class, though such conduct is considered normal for autistic children. Her actions were symptomatic of a urinary tract infection and led officials to believe her condition was a proof of a sexual "attack."

"It's actually your worst nightmare, your child being violated," Leduc said. "So for them to even suggest that, and that be my worst nightmare, it was horrific."

Circumstances worsened for Leduc when school administrators believed the psychic's statements and used information about Victoria's medical condition to help child protective authorities build a case against the Leduc family.

"They reported me to Children's Aid," Leduc said. "Based on a psychic!"

Leduc was already having trouble paying her bills, because she was a single mother raising an autistic child. She was unable to pay for Victoria's therapy, so she said she had no choice but to send her to the public school.

The mother insists Victoria has not had contact with a man in his 20s and said she has been frustrated with the school after it lost her daughter on numerous occasions. Due to the school's inability to keep track of Victoria, Leduc fitted her with a costly global positioning system to keep track of the child and record all audio around her. Based on the recordings, she had sound evidence that the child had not been harmed.

However, the Child and Family Services Act requires CAS to investigate suspicions of sexual abuse, so a case worker visited the family in their home. The case was closed after the worker acknowledged a lack of proof and called Leduc a "diligent" parent who had been troubled with a "ridiculous" report.

According to City News, Sue Dale of the Simcoe County CAS said, "It is highly unusual, I will admit, to have a case called in based upon what a psychic might say."

The school board was short on words when the news agency inquired about the sex abuse allegations.

"I don't have the information yet, but when we proceed with our own investigation we'll know more about that," said Dr. Lindy Zaretsky, the Simcoe County superintendent.

According to the report, the board admitted to overreacting and acting on the word of a questionable source. But Leduc became so frustrated with what she believed to be incompetence on the part of the public school that she quit her job so she would not have to send her daughter back.

Victoria's mother said she has been unable to work and does not have the financial means to send her daughter to intensive therapy. She has contacted an attorney and plans to sue the school board for the cost of treatment for the rest of the semester – therapy that can cost $50,000 per year. The board has refused her request.