"As indicated in my previous letter, the issue before the board on any criminal injury compensation claim is whether or not there is sufficient evidence on which to conclude that criminal victimization has occurred. The matter of guilt or innocence of a suspect or an accused is not the issue on which the focus is made. When application is made for compensation the board obtains all available relevant information on which to make a determination as to whether a person is a victim of crimes defined under the Act. The standard of proof applicable is that of the balance of probabilities. This is the civil standard of proof as opposed to the criminal burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Hence, the applicant must produce information which shows a preponderance of evidence, i.e. that it is more likely than not that victimization has occurred. The board’s job is to weigh that evidence and determine whether that burden of proof has been met.
 In the instant case there was determined to be, primarily on the bases of the therapist’s input sufficient evidence that victimization had occurred. There was also evidence of injury in the form of emotional trauma resulting from that victimization and a program treatment which was required due to that trauma."

 In this WCB letter the Chief Counsel emphasizes the requirement for:

"evidence"

"all available relevant information"

"balance of probabilities".

" the applicant must produce information which shows a preponderance of evidence"

 Does WCB follow these so eloquently recited procedures? 

 Has WCB met their own requirements? 

 Categorically, the answer is no. In a damning admission in the very next paragraph of the same letter the Mr. Roderick Ferguson, the CICP Chief Counsel writes:

"In the instant case there was determined to be, primarily on the bases of the therapist’s input sufficient evidence that victimization had occurred"

 Dr. Ferguson admits that in "the instant case" the Board did not did not follow the procedures he so articulately detailed in the primary paragraph of his letter.

 As well, the following sentence in that vary same paragraph is equally stupefying:

"There was also evidence of injury in the form of emotional trauma resulting from that victimization and a program treatment which was required due to that trauma."

 He states "was also evidence". What evidence? As there never was any primary evidence, how can there be "also evidence"?

 What has occurred is that WCB has corruptly allowed these charlatans to "make the determination" which was entrusted to and the ultimate responsibility of the WCB Board. 

 In this abdication the tragic results of such negligence of responsibility are predictable

 This case presented many contradictions that should have caused WCB to question the validity of the claim had the WCB not carelessly and negligently abandoned their responsibility.

 The fact that Therapist Oaks was new to CICP and just a few months ago had been accepted as "qualified" to receive payment by CICP surely should have at least allowed for WCB to have not empowered her to take on the duty entrusted to WCB. An unacceptable desertion of trust by WCB.

 Without doubt the most compelling negation of the validity of this claim was that both times when WCB contacted the police they were informed that the police assessed the case as not worthy of even an investigation.

 Had WCB contacted our family doctor as they purport to do, along with contacting police departments, as stated in their literature on how The Board makes the "determination", they would have found that the doctor as well did not support these accusations of sexual abuse.

 My daughter Vicki, in her search for confirmation of her and her therapist's claims of abuse, did return to the town in which we lived during her childhood. There she visited her doctor. The following notation is written in the clinical notes of Sharon's therapist. (Remember that Vicki's therapist, just newly accepted as qualified by WCB did not keep any notes in the over one year of therapy.)

"Vicki went to family dr. in Courtenay to look at old files. Dr. underplayed a lot of indications of possible S/A saying, "Lots of little girls come in here with stomach aches & saying it's S/A"

 Therapist Donahue implies that the doctor is concealing indications of childhood sexual abuse.

"Dr. underplayed a lot of indications of possible S/A"

(Note: To the sexual abuse therapists there is no possibility they are wrong. Everyone who does not support her "abuse hysteria" is covering up or in denial. These are the people who's assessment WCB refers to as EVIDENCE.)

 The interaction between WCB and the police warrants greater exposure. The fact that WCB choose to ignore and even exclude the assessment of the police in their files is extremely condemnatory to WCB. The one reference to any police contact contained in WCB records is in the second letter written to Therapist Oaks from WCB, dated Feb28, 1991 in which it is stated:

"There has been limited police documentation…"

 Other than this rather ambiguous and obscured comment there is absolutely no record of any contact with the police. It was only through direct communication, through the Freedom of Information Act, that it was discovered that WCB had twice contacted them and that the police had both times informed WCB that they did not consider this case even worthy of investigation. WCB refused to accept the police assessment and destroyed all evidence of this communication.

 A clear and extremely disturbing contradiction to what Mr. Ferguson claims in his letter:

"all available relevant information"

 Why would such valued intelligence as a police report be ignored and not be retained in the file? Could it be that WCB, like the therapists who categorize all dissenters as in denial, does not allow "all available relevant information" that does not support the Criminal Injury Compensation Program agenda? Is purposely ignoring and destroying such information not a criminal act in the ruination of my family?

 There is not one item of evidence against me or any of the eight other individuals accused of sexual abuse by my daughters. This whole case in nothing but bias conjecture on the part of some over zealous and under trained therapists. There were so many "red flags" that this case was bogus. But nothing, it seems, could stop WCB from destroying my family and me. Even today, as the rest of the world clearly admits that Recovered Memory Therapy is quackery, the Criminal Injury Compensation Program, administered by WCB refuses to acknowledge and accept the responsibility for the harm they financed.

 In August of 2000 I requested, via the Freedom of Information Act, a copy of the professional qualifications [curriculum vitae] submitted by Therapists Donahue and Oaks to WCB. In a letter dated August 21, 2000 I was informed that I was not entitled to that information as WCB considered it to be "Personal Information".

"….we were unable to locate the individuals."

 Should it come as a surprise to WCB that the scam artists have gone into hiding? I only hope that in this search WCB checked with their payroll department.

 Other indications that this case was a hoax, Therapist Oak’s input contained grave flaws. She quotes memories from the age of 2 yrs. Yet not scientific research or memory experts support a human's ability to carry memories from this age into adulthood. Next, it is claimed that an adult male raped Vicki at age 4 yrs. Such a violent violation of this child would have caused extreme emotional and permanent physical detectable damage. (In another version of this incident available to Therapist Oaks it is reported that this incident included great pain plus physical damage resulting in a blood soaked towel. Therapist Oaks chose to exclude that part in her undated and poorly written letter to WCB - a "letter" still classified by WCB as evidence.)

 Therapist Donahue’s input, originally rejected, does not include any specifics. (Although Mr. Ferguson, WCB Chief Counsel, refers to it as evidence.) She presents a picture of someone who had "symptoms" of someone who had been sexually abused. What sets Therapist Donahue apart from Therapist Oaks is that she kept notes. Below are some examples from "therapy" sessions. It is clear that these "therapist's" notes actually negate the claims of sexual abuse. How could Therapist Donahue inform WCB differently? And how could WCB call these claims "evidence"? (Why is WCB not attempting to locate Therapists Donahue and Oaks for prosecution?)

Session 3, Sept. 19/90 

"Danced around the childhood experiences, still not able to recall."

"Do getting in tough with the inner child exercises."

Session 5, Oct. 3/90

"Suggest she have longer sess. 1 1/2 hrs. With art work, to think about giving herself permission to talk."

Session 13, Nov. 29/90 

"Touching on the memories & then quickly backing off."

Session 15, Dec. 12/90 

"Concerned that she is not able to have visual recall of the abuse. Now only sensory ones."
 
 

**Note: For Repressed/Recovered Memory Therapy [RMT] devotees there are different types of memories;

Session 26, Mar. 6/91 Therapist Donahue writes

"She is having a lot more memories when we do journeys"

(Note; "Journeys" is a form of hypnotism in which the "patient" is put into a dreamlike state at which point the therapist introduces extreme emotions such as hate, love, etc., usually combined with fear. During these trance periods the RM Therapist suggests and searches for sexual abuse memories. What is so evil about this procedure is the poor confused patient is told that if she does not recover memories she will not get better.)

 Tragically for Sharon and certainly a damnation of Therapist Donahue is contained in the clinical notes dated Session 46, July 31, 1991, it is obvious that neither Sharon nor Therapist Donahue understood that Sharon was being hypnotized during the many "journeys" Sharon was subjected to. The following is a copy of the notes from that session, nearly two years into the therapy:

Session 46, July 31/91

"In increased agitative state around her moving to her new place in Kits which she says is too small. Focussed on this in semi-regression - memories that arose: small room high windows, locked doors "I can't get out - caged." Cream coloured carpet (gold colour on stairs of that house) blood, my blood on the carpet."

 Moved a lot when growing up, about once/yr, always seemed to be mid-school yr & she would have to get up in front of class & introduce herself - humiliated. Long time ago mom told her that when she was little she was sitting up on her (S's) bed I mom in the room dad came in for something & immediately S screamed 'Daddy, don't hurt me!' & backed off toward the wall. There was no obvious attack on her in that incident but did it recall a previous one where she was hurt? Now mom says she doesn't remember. Something going to break very soon. S not writing journal on purpose, senses something big coming. Told her to call me if necessary. Whole session on regression ? Carpet & blood-stain. S's request. Says she wants to be hypnotized & get it all out."

(Of note: This session is representative of a typical session and it is from this gibberish which the Recovered Memory Therapist magically extracts the abuse "memories". The high-lited phrase clearly shows that there is a profound misunderstanding of what was happening. It would appear hypnotism was being employed without either my daughter or her "therapist" being cognizant of it.)

More information available to WCB had they investigated

• The tragic death of a sister, Marilyn?
• The recent difficulties Sharon had had in her job as a nurse. (This incident was so serious it required unions, lawyers and other such people to resolve?)
• as the therapy continued the number of people accused of sexual abuse grew to eight or more
• WCB would have discovered that early into these false allegations Sharon and Vicki were being sued for defamation of character. They would have known that even though the therapists were claiming years of sexual abuse taken place - both Sharon and Vicki in a sworn statement said that they had had no awareness or memories of any abuse until the fall of 1990.

"The plaintiff’s sexual assaults upon each of the defendants were so grievous that each defendant, as a young child, repressed all memory of the said assaults until approximately August of 1990."

 So, in answer to the question, What investigations/safeguards does WCB utilize to eliminate bogus claims? If there are any, none are evident in this case. In reality, all the many indications that this was not a valid case were ignored. Even more disturbing police reports were disregarded and destroyed and no other information was ever gathered.

Yet in a Vancouver Sun article in March of 1999:

"Roderick Ferguson, chief counsel for the CIC, said his program would never make a payment without corroboration that a crime had occurred."

1. How an application is made and processed for WCB sponsored therapy?

2. What investigations/safeguards does WCB utilize to eliminated bogus claims?

3. What are the required therapist qualifications for WCB sponsorship?

4. What types of therapy does WCB sponsor?

5. What monitoring programs are in place to insure proper therapy is being?

6. What programs are available to correct for any harm that WCB may have caused
    as a direct result of their sponsored therapy?

7. Conclusion

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Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you and any help you can provide. 
 

Lloyd Corney
[email protected]