# School investigates sexual abuse based on claim by teachers "psychic" consultation.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 19, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439 "2008-06-19T04:04:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/1 "2008-06-19T04:04:50Z")
[Has to read to be believed.](http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/06/18/5910691-sun.html)
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/2 "2008-06-19T04:09:38Z")
[QUOTE=astro]
[Has to read to be believed.](http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/06/18/5910691-sun.html)
[/QUOTE]
Well, at least it did not happen in Texas.
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### Author:  [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/3 "2008-06-19T06:10:25Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Leduc said they advised her that Victoria’s educational assistant (EA) had visited a psychic, who said a youngster whose name started with “V” was being sexually abused by a man between 23 and 26 years old. Leduc was also handed a list of recent behaviours exhibited by her daughter.
Common sense would suggest that the laws mandating the reporting of suspected abuse are, in practice, restricted to credible, substantiated, reliable suspicions.
Third party suspicions levied by “psychics” consulted by a student’s “educational assistant” should not qualify as such, especially when they are as vague and non-specific as a John Edwards “I hear dead people, but they only communicate in conveniently non-specific fragments” cold reading.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/4 "2008-06-19T10:25:45Z")
Reminds me of married life. My ex once got the shits with me for several days because she had dreamed that I fucked one of her friends in front of her. At first I tried to be understanding and soothe her hurt feelings but when that didn’t work I couldn’t take it seriously for long. Mistake.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/5 "2008-06-19T10:47:43Z")
Why the blazes is anyone defending this action? The Board director isn’t claiming, in the story, that the mother’s description of events is inaccurate, just saying that they don’t _normally_ use psychics. What she doesn’t seem to be saying is, “But if we get someone reporting that a psychic said that a girl on State street in Toronto is being abused, we _must_ investigate.”
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### Author:  [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/6 "2008-06-19T12:39:53Z")
[QUOTE=astro]
[Has to read to be believed.](http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/06/18/5910691-sun.html)
[/QUOTE]
I read it twice and I still can’t believe it.
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/7 "2008-06-19T13:36:20Z")
Unfortunately, this has plenty of grim precedent. Here’s the Wiki article on [day care sexual abuse hysteria](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_care_sexual_abuse_hysteria) which resulted in prison time for a bunch of innocent folks (most have been subsequently exonerated).
I’m sure a big factor in this case is fear by the school authorities of what would happen if they dismissed the accusation of a psychic and it was later found that abuse existed. We are in an age where fear of a lawsuit can trump all other considerations.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/8 "2008-06-19T13:48:59Z")
[QUOTE=Xema]
We are in an age where fear of a lawsuit can trump all other considerations.
[/QUOTE]
Which is why I hope this woman sues the pants off all involved. Because that seems to be the only signal they’ll notice.
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### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/9 "2008-06-19T13:54:42Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb]
Well, at least it did not happen in Texas.
[/QUOTE]
Or Florida.
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### Author:  [@evangelinagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evangelinagirl)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/10 "2008-06-19T14:01:33Z")
You know, I am in education and have seen quite a bit. But this takes the cake. That poor mother. It’s not like she doesn’t have enough on her with caring for her daughter, now she has to worry about “trumped up” events. Egads.
Yes, people are driven by fear of lawsuits. Especially in education. Well, I hope that woman sues.
Most of us in education are taught to have facts, not suspicions, in the reporting of alleged abuse.
Wow. And yes, I read the article twice.
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### Author:  [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/11 "2008-06-19T14:32:14Z")
I’m in education in California. We are _required_ to report any ‘reasonable suspicion’ of abuse for investigation. I guess it’s up to each of us to determine what’s ‘reasonable’.
A psychic doesn’t meet my litmus test. My own tarot cards, on the other hand… wouldn’t either.
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/12 "2008-06-19T17:23:17Z")
There is a part of me that I’m a little ashamed of. It’s the part of me that sees taking a Louisville Slugger to the knees of everyone involved (mom and daughter excepted) as a perfectly reasonable response to this kind of crap.
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### Author:  [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/13 "2008-06-19T17:43:29Z")
[QUOTE=cerberus]
Common sense would suggest that the laws mandating the reporting of suspected abuse are, in practice, restricted to credible, substantiated, reliable suspicions.
Third party suspicions levied by “psychics” consulted by a student’s “educational assistant” should not qualify as such, especially when they are as vague and non-specific as a John Edwards “I hear dead people, but they only communicate in conveniently non-specific fragments” cold reading.
[/QUOTE]
If the psychic had reported, “Victoria Nolet, of 21 Loxbury Road, Toronto, has been sexually abused by Stephen Edmundson on six separate occasions,” then I’d be inclined to report it.
But “a youngster whose name started with ‘V’” was being sexually abused “by a man between 23 and 26 years old?” Come on.
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### Author:  [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/14 "2008-06-19T19:34:55Z")
Though the article doesn’t mention it, I assume that during the meeting there was some implication that the mother allowed the abuse to happen, since I’d assume the girl doesn’t do much on her own. Interesting that the “behaviors” didn’t get noticed until after the moron EA went to the psychic.
I guess we can add this to the list of bad things that happen when people believe in pseudoscience and the supernatural.
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/15 "2008-06-19T19:45:57Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker]
But “a youngster whose name started with ‘V’” was being sexually abused “by a man between 23 and 26 years old?” Come on.
[/QUOTE]
If this was my kid. I would point out to the school how many 23-26 year old men work there and tell them “my psychic said it was one of them”. Then see how much weight the school puts on psychic reporting.
This is pretty much tossing a high probablility guess. Dozens of girls names start with V, the chance that one of them suffers some kind of sexual abuse at home are probably high enough for a “psychic” to claim a hit 30-40% of the time and get some serious media attention.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/16 "2008-06-19T19:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager]
…I guess we can add this to the list of bad things that happen when people believe in pseudoscience and the supernatural.
[/QUOTE]
Your user name starts with a “V,” are you being abused? We’re going to need you to come down to the station so we can be sure.
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### Author:  [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/17 "2008-06-19T20:11:42Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker]
If the psychic had reported, “Victoria Nolet, of 21 Loxbury Road, Toronto, has been sexually abused by Stephen Edmundson on six separate occasions,” then I’d be inclined to report it.
[/QUOTE]
Why? If she claimed to learn of it through psychic means it’s bullshit no matter how specific the claim.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/18 "2008-06-19T20:21:48Z")
You could say “My psychic told me that someone whose initials are (school principal’s initials) is a mass murderer, so I had to tell the police!”
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### Author:  [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/19 "2008-06-19T20:34:56Z")
[QUOTE=ratatoskK]
You could say “My psychic told me that someone whose initials are (school principal’s initials) is a mass murderer, so I had to tell the police!”
[/QUOTE]
Substitute same sex preference child molestor for maximum effect. The little boys name began with a V, 6-10 years old…gotta be a couple of those around here…
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### Author:  [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/school-investigates-sexual-abuse-based-on-claim-by-teachers-psychic-consultation/453439/20 "2008-06-19T20:56:45Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker]
If the psychic had reported, “Victoria Nolet, of 21 Loxbury Road, Toronto, has been sexually abused by Stephen Edmundson on six separate occasions,” then I’d be inclined to report it.
[/QUOTE]
I’d be inclined to keep an eye on the “psychic”, in that case. I would have to wonder why this individual had apparently made a point of learning the name and address of an unrelated minor, and why they were making nasty accusations about Mr. Edmundson.
That’s not to say I would ignore the accusations themselves–it’s not inconceivable that the “psychic” could have learned of a genuine case of abuse through some mundane channel, and doesn’t want to disclose that channel for some reason. Of course, such reluctance would be suspicious in its own right, especially from someone I would presume to be either a fraud or delusional.