By Canadian Press

Wrongly accused of sexually abusing his daughter, P.E.I. man sues RCMP and group home

Jun 28, 2021 | 11:19 AM

CHARLOTTETOWN — A P.E.I. man wrongly accused of sexually abusing his autistic daughter is suing the RCMP and a Charlottetown group home, claiming he and his family were victims of a malicious prosecution.

In a statement of claim filed with the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, the family is accusing employees at the home of inventing the abuse allegations in January 2015 and attributing them to the daughter, who is non-verbal and has the intellect of a two-year-old.

The claim, filed late last week, says employees of Queens County Residential Services told the RCMP that the 35-year-old woman had complained about the abuse through a technique known as facilitated communication.

The technique, which involves a facilitator using physical support to help a non-verbal person point to pictures, objects, words or a keyboard, has been widely discredited by experts in the field since the 1990s.

The woman’s father was arrested on Feb. 7, 2015, and the Mounties’ investigation dragged on for the next six months — but he was never charged.

1000 Ways to Heal

1000 Ways to Heal: Moons

Dec 10, 2024

Question of the Week

Should Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson apologize or resign after it was found he breached a section of council's code of conduct for allowing false or misleading information to be communicated?

Dec 09, 2024

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Donald has it wrong - again

Dec 08, 2024

Independent testing arranged by the family found the allegations attributed to the woman had in fact been generated by group home workers, the court document says. None of the allegations in the statement of claim has been proven in court, and statements of defence have yet to be filed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2021.

The Canadian Press