2020 QCCQ 10246, 2020 QCCQ 10246

Protection de la jeunesse — 201413 2020 QCCQ 10246 COURT OF QUEBEC CANADA PROVINCE OF QUEBEC DISTRICT OF [...] LOCALITY OF [...] « Youth Court Division » N°: 525-41-0 34518-183 Date: February 14, 2020 PRESIDED BY: THE HONOURABLE TAYA DI PIETRO, Q.C.J. In the case of: X Born on [...], 2007 [SOCIAL WORKER 1] , duly authorized by the Director of Youth Protection of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A Applicant -and- A , the mother -and- B , the father The parents JUDGMENT

Section 38 of the Youth Protection Act (L.R.Q., c. P-34.1 ) WARNING: The Youth Protection Act forbids the publishing or broadcasting of information allowing for a child or the child’s parents to be identified.

Any person who contravenes this provision commits an offence and is liable to a fine (sections 11.2, 11.2.1 and 135 Y.P.A.). [ 1 ] JD2620 The Director of Youth Protection of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A filed an Application to declare that the security or development of a child is in danger in the case of X , a thirteen year-old child, based on a serious risk of neglect and on the sexual abuse to which she has been exposed by her maternal grandmother’s husband. [ 2 ] The Court was also presented with similar applications regarding the child’s siblings whose situations are addressed in separate judgments. [ 3 ] Given the allegations, the Director recommends that the child remain entrusted to a foster home, with aid, counsel and assistance, as well as additional corrective measures, until June 30, 2020. [ 4 ] The mother, assisted by Me Ameur, admitted the serious risk of neglect as well as the sexual abuse but denied not taking adequate steps to put an end to the situation.

She opposed the child’s entrustment to foster care and argued that her daughter either be returned to her care or to her father’s care. [ 5 ] The father, who chose to proceed without the assistance of legal counsel, admitted both grounds of endangerment. As for the measures, he expressed his willingness to care for his daughter but acknowledged that she is doing well in her foster home and did not oppose her continued placement. [ 6 ] The child, assisted by Me Leclerc, admitted both alleged grounds of endangerment and asked to be entrusted to her father and to accompany him on his travels.

In the alternative, she agreed to remain in foster care and consented to all the proposed measures, but expressed doubts about the benefits of therapeutic services. [ 7 ] The Director filed Exhibits D-1 to D-14 as evidence: D-1: Child’s birth certificate; D-2: Agreement on voluntary measures, dated September 12, 2018; D-3: Court Report, by Dorli Fischer, dated November 19, 2018;

D-4: Police Report, événement no. 42-180705-014, dated July 15, 2018 (filed under

section 292 C.C.P.); D-5: X’s police interview by Detetive Manon Champagne, dated July 11, 2018; D-6: Mother’s police interview by Detetive Manon Champagne, dated July 11, 2018; D-7: Mother’s parental capacity evaluation, by Dr. Niki Saros, dated November 27, 2018 (filed under

section 293 C.C.P.); D-8: X’s psychological assessment, by Dre. Catherine Cloutier, dated January 30, 2019 (filed under

section 293 C.C.P.); D-9: Mother’s psychiatric assessment, by Dr. Daniel Frank, dated February 11, 2019 (filed under

section 293 C.C.P.); D-10: Addendum, prepared by Dorli Fischer, dated March 4, 2019; D-11: Father’s parental capacity evaluation, by Dre. Catherine Cloutier, dated January 30, 2019 (filed under

section 293 C.C.P.); D-12: Addendum, prepared by [Social Worker 1], dated August 29, 2019; D-13: Addendum II, prepared by [Social Worker 1], dated December 4, 2019; D-14: Police Report MTLEV-1900647033. [ 8 ] In

summary, the parents both admit the serious risk of neglect. [ 9 ] It should be noted that the mother’s parental capacity assessment identifies important limitations that confirm such a risk: The personal history suggests significant deficits in adaptive functioning in areas such as, independent living, self-sufficiency, interpersonal relationships, social judgement, planning ability, and decision-making. [1] [ 10 ] The mother’s psychiatric assessment also raises serious concerns: Insight and judgment were clearly deficient. […] In my opinion, Ms.

A suffers from a personality disorder with trait disturbances in the narcissistic, paranoid and anti-social domains. [2] [ 11 ] All the parties also admit that the child has been sexually abused by her maternal grandmother’s husband. [ 12 ] The main issue in dispute is whether the mother failed to take the necessary steps to put an end to the situation. [ 13 ] X maintained her allegations regarding multiple incidents of sexual assault by her grandmother’s husband as well as her mother’s failure to take steps to protect her. [ 14 ] Her statements to the caseworker in July 2018 are reported as follows: The caseworker spoke to X in the car while driving to her father’s home on July 4, 2018.

X confirmed the information in the signalement and was clear that she was overwhelmed with the situation and feeling unsafe. She stated that when she was home alone, she would lock herself in the bathroom as it is the only room with a lock. X explained that the situation began about 4 months ago, she told her mother but that despite her efforts, the situation continued. X has been discouraged by her mother to report the situation from the police. [3] [ 15 ] At the hearing, the child’s testimony was extremely clear.

Although she is very soft-spoken and her testimony was at times barely audible, the content was unequivocal. She was abused by her step-grandfather from the age of six or eight.

Although she lacked the understanding to accurately describe what was happening to her at the time, she did tell her mother that her step-grandfather was being “mean” to her on several occasions and that his actions were sexual in nature. [ 16 ] She also indicated that she did not wish to talk about the abuse, regretting all the commotion she had caused. [ 17 ] The child’s testimony at the hearing was consistent with the statements she made when interviewed by Detective Manon Champagne [4] . [ 18 ] She described in detail the most recent incidents of abuse and claimed they began when she was five or six years old.

She described her step-grandfather pinning her down, touching her buttocks, sniffing her body, biting her calf and repeatedly telling her to keep silent. [ 19 ] Her testimony clearly establishes that she disclosed the abuse to her mother at an early age yet her mother failed to take steps to prevent further incidents of abuse as the family continued to live in the same home as the abuser. [ 20 ] The fact that the child feels remorseful for having disclosed the abuse also illustrates that the mother failed to reassure her that she was neither responsible for the abuse nor for any of the consequences resulting from her disclosure. [ 21 ] Moreover, the child’s psychological assessment describes the emotional impact on the child as a result of the inadequate steps to protect her: X is a 12-year-old adolescent girl who displays emotional fragility from having been exposed to a family environment where she was little protected and where she received minimal empathy regarding her legitimate emotional needs.

She presents with parentified

behaviours and an important distrust regarding the adult figure. She is oppositional towards structure. X also displays variations regarding her emotional regulation. [5] [ 22 ] It should also be noted that the child had previously shown signs of extreme emotional distress: The caseworker spoke to Ms. C on July 4, 2018. Ms.

C reported that last year, when X was in grade 4, she was sent to the hospital by ambulance as a result of suicidal ideation. [6] [ 23 ] As a single parent to three children, namely X, her six year-old brother who has developmental delays, as well as a two year-old little boy, the mother can be overwhelmed and relies heavily on her own mother, both emotionally and financially, thus contributing to her reluctance to take steps to protect her daughter. [ 24 ] Moreover, the grandmother is dependent upon her husband’s sponsorship to remain in Canada, thus compounding the family’s hesitation to denounce the abuser. [ 25 ] [Social Worker 2], the worker assigned to the case between July 2018 and March 2019, also testified that the mother was very reluctant to lease a new apartment for herself and her children and that she had to insist in order to convince her. [ 26 ] In addition, she had to intervene on three occasions when the mother tried to influence her daughter’s testimony. [ 27 ] When X was first placed, the grandmother found her and tried to persuade her to recant her statements and return home. [ 28 ] The Court does not believe the mother’s testimony that she only first heard of the step-grandfather’s sexually inappropriate behavior toward X on June 17, 2018, as she claims. [ 29 ] In fact, the mother herself testified that she always told X to stay away from her step-grandfather since she does not trust any men around her daughter.

She claims to have told her daughter to keep away from her step-grandfather but adds that her daughter never respected that, explaining that she always went to his room. She specified that she told her daughter X to stay away from him when they moved in with him around 2010: “I told her from the beginning that he’s not my real father. Don’t get close to him.

I repeat that to her almost every day but she didn’t listen.” The mother’s own testimony establishes at the very least that she was suspicious of the step- grandfather, yet did nothing to protect her daughter other than to warn her to protect herself. [ 30 ] Given that X was only three years old in 2010 and extremely vulnerable it is impossible to believe that the mother could have reasonably expected her daughter to take measures to protect herself.

Moreover, the mother states that her daughter did not listen to her, yet does not claim to have taken any additional steps to ensure her safety. [ 31 ] In fact, the mother’s response to her daughter’s disclosure was to tell her to stay away from her step-grandfather whilst continuing to reside in the same apartment, thus placing the onus on the child to fend for herself and to try to ensure her own protection.

The child was left at home alone with her step-grandfather when the mother had to go out, and that is when the last incidents occurred. [ 32 ] As for the father, the parents are separated and he immediately agreed to take in his daughter as well as the other siblings.

However, his attitude is otherwise rather passive and by his own admission, he preferred to let professionals discuss the matter with his daughter and take action to denounce the perpetrator. [ 33 ] The tribunal therefore concludes that the evidence establishes on a balance of probabilities that the child’s security and development are in danger based on the sexual abuse she suffered and from which she was not adequately protected. [ 34 ] Regarding the measures, the mother is asking that her daughter be returned to her care whereas the child and her father ask that she be entrusted to his care, or that she remain in placement. [ 35 ] Although visits between X and her mother have increased and improved since the mother found her own apartment, their relationship still needs to improve for the mother to become more emotionally available and responsive to her daughter’s needs.

X remains withdrawn in her mother’s presence and there are concerns about the degree of responsibility she is required to assume in taking care of her two younger brothers. [ 36 ] X’s first choice is to be entrusted to her father’s care. However, he plans to travel to Asia for several months and has not presented any concrete plans to establish that he will be able to meet the child’s educational and other needs during his trip.

He also indicated at the hearing that he only discussed possible travel plans with his daughter two days earlier and also admitted to never having travelled alone with her before. [ 37 ] Under the circumstances, it cannot be said that it is in X’s interest to be entrusted to her father since no concrete, viable plan to ensure that her needs are met has been presented. [ 38 ] Moreover, the father acknowledges that she is well cared for in her foster home and that he is not opposed to her remaining there. [ 39 ] In addition, it is recommended that any contact between the child and the father of her youngest brother be prohibited and the parties are all in agreement with the recommendation. [ 40 ] The evidence establishes that the mother and the little boy’s father have a very conflictual relationship and X should under no circumstances have to act as a messenger between them or otherwise be exposed to any of their issues. [ 41 ] Finally, the child is strongly encouraged to benefit from counselling to help her regarding the sexual abuse she suffered, the lack of support from her family, her feelings of guilt associated with the disclosure, as well as her disappointment following the outcome of the criminal proceedings against the perpetrator:

On September 24 th 2019, Ms. [Social Worker 3], (Covering [Center A] worker) and Ms. [Social Worker 4] accompanied X to Criminal Court for the hearing concerning the sexual assault. The Crown eventually dropped the charge of sexual assault as they felt that they did not have sufficient evidence to prove he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; nevertheless, they charged him with physical aggression against X. Mr. C (step-grandfather) took the plea deal and the restraining order between he and X remains in effect. Given Mr. C’s poor health, he was not sentenced to jail time.

A probation officer will be assigned to evaluate his situation and propose community service time. X was very upset about the outcome of the criminal court hearing. [7] [ 42 ] As the child is extremely reserved and avoids discussing the subject, alternative forms of therapy, such as Art Therapy, should be offered for as long as necessary.

THEREFORE, THE COURT: [ 43 ] GRANTS the application; [ 44 ] DECLARES that the security and the development of the child, X , are in danger under sections 38 (b) (2) and 38 (d) (1) of the Youth Protection Act ; AS FOR THE MEASURES, THE COURT DEEMS IT TO BE IN THE CHILD 'S INTEREST TO ORDER THE FOLLOWING MEASURES: [ 45 ] ORDERS that the child remain entrusted to a foster home until June 30, 2020; [ 46 ] ORDERS that the frequency and modality of contacts between the child, her parents and her maternal grandmother be determined by the Director of Youth Protection, including supervision if necessary, taking into account the child’s wishes; [ 47 ] TAKES JUDICIAL NOTICE that the child sees her mother and siblings on Wednesdays and Saturdays and has begun sleepovers on Friday nights at the end of November 2019 and that contacts will be progressively increased; [ 48 ] TAKES JUDICIAL NOTICE that the child’s father is expected to be away between January and April 2020 and that contacts will be encouraged when he returns, taking into account the child’s wishes; [ 49 ] ORDERS that the family continue to benefit from the services of an educator for as long as necessary; [ 50 ] PROHIBITS contacts between the child and her step-grandfather, Mr.

C, and as well as her half-brother’s father, Mr. D; [ 51 ] TAKES JUDICIAL NOTICE of the Director of Youth Protection’s undertaking to explore alternative forms of therapy for the child to better meet her needs, such as Art Therapy; [ 52 ] ORDERS that she benefit from such services, if she agrees to participate, and STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that she do so; [ 53 ] STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that the mother seek support services for her personal difficulties from the community (i.e. CLSC); [ 54 ] STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that the mother seek support services to improve her relationship with her daughter (i.e.

Family Therapy or Family Ties), TAKING JUDICIAL NOTICE of her agreement to do so; [ 55 ] RECOMMENDS that the child participate in extra-curricular activities of her choice (sports or art) to foster self-confidence and a sense of belonging, as recommended in her psychological assessment; [ 56 ] ORDERS that a person working for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A provide aid, counsel and assistance to the child and her family; [ 57 ] ENTRUSTS the situation of the child, X , to the Director of Youth Protection of the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux A , who shall then see that the measures are carried out; [ 58 ] THE WHOLE until June 30, 2020.

Signed on February 14, 2020 TAYA DI PIETRO, Q.C.J. Me Christine Waldvogel

Attorney for the Director of Youth Protection Me Karine Leclerc Attorney for the child Me Younes Ameur Attorney for the mother Hearing dates: March 26, September 4 and 5 and December 17, 2019 TD/vl