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Mom tried to hire a hit man; daughter still lives with her

http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/bird_nov3.html

The Toronto Sun
November 3, 2001

Mom tried to hire a hit man; daughter still lives with her
By HEATHER BIRD -- Toronto Sun

Okay, here's a quick test. If a woman is convicted of hiring someone to
maim her ex-husband, does that necessarily mean she's a bad mother? And
just because she has to do some pesky jail time, should that affect her
custody and access?

Answer: Apparently not in Ontario.

Of the scads of frustrated fathers who have e-mailed or phoned in their
custody horror stories in the wake of Thursday's column about the Carline
Vandenelsen judicial kiss, there is one tale which stands alone.

While most divorces have their fair share of "he said, she said," it's not
often the dispute ends up in the criminal courts. Jack Laughtenschlager's
case is the exception.

Though she richly deserves it, we won't name his ex-wife here, as their
daughter shares her name. There's no reason for the sins of the mother to
be visited upon their teenage daughter.

The 51-year-old Kitchener man lived "off and on" with his child's mother
until the girl was about two years old. In 1990, after they permanently
split, access was always a problem, even though his support payments were
up to date. (He admits to an outstanding dispute over a sum with the
provincial authorities. He says he's paid in full. They say he still owes
20 bucks.)

At any rate, when the child was about three, the mother became obsessed
with the notion that the girl had been sexually abused during an access
weekend. She took her to hospital, where an on-call doctor did a physical
examination and concluded nothing was amiss. Nonetheless, the case was
sent to the local Children's Aid, where a social worker arrived at the
same determination. The case ultimately landed in family court, where a
London psychologist, Dr. Jack Albin, was appointed to do a custody
assessment. The shrink decided (after a one-day investigation involving
interviews with only the child and both parents) that daddy did, in fact,
do it. As a result, Laughtenschlager was cut back to two hours of
supervised access per month. He was never charged criminally and he
subsequently challenged Albin's report with a complaint to the College of
Psychologists of Ontario.

In the meantime, still not satisfied that her daughter was secure, the mom
and a friend set out to hire someone to murder Laughtenschlager.
Fortunately for him (and unfortunately for them), they gave a local conman
$1,500 to do the dirty deed. He promptly went to the police with the
information, hoping to solve some of his own legal problems in exchange
for the tip.

The police, in turn, sent in an undercover cop to pose as the hitman and
came away with a clean recording of the request. In 1994, both the mother
and her friend were sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading guilty
to conspiracy to cause bodily harm. Thinking this was his chance,
Laughtenschlager petitioned for custody and was told by the judge that the
little girl should stay put with her maternal grandmother because, after
all, she was upset since her mom was going to jail.

After many years and much legal wrangling, the College of Psychologists
have come to a conclusion in the case of Dr. Albin. According to the
agreed statement of facts, Albin admitted to filing a report without
conducting a proper investigation. In addition, he didn't interview the
other professionals involved in the case, didn't take reasonable measures
to check out the facts and didn't even send his conclusion to
Laughtenschlager or his lawyer.

The discipline panel issued a reprimand and ordered that a limitation be
placed on Dr. Albin's certificate. It says he is "ordered not to conduct
custody and access assessments of any nature, and is ordered not to
conduct child welfare assessment or treatment work that involves sexual
abuse allegations."

It is somewhat of a hollow victory for Laughtenschlager, whose
relationship with his daughter has been permanently damaged by the turmoil
over the past 10 years. She lives with her mother and still comes to see
her dad and his new wife for one weekend a month. But things were never
the same.

"All you need is an allegation and they take away your access and you end
up visiting in a church basement," he says, although he agrees all abuse
allegations have to be investigated.

The cost has been enormous, both emotionally and financially. And he's
given up hoping that one day things may turn in his favour.

"What goes around, comes around, doesn't always apply."

---
Heather can be e-mailed at hbird@sunpub.com or visit her home page.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.

Copyright © 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved.
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