Family Destruction Started

September 26, 2009 permalink

Justin Wood has been placed on the route to family destruction. It has started with an improbable accusation — he threw his own child into a fire. The evidence against him is under embargo, meaning usually there isn't any. It is unlikely he is the one dad in a million who wants to incinerate his own child. He has been arrested and released on bail subject to conditions keeping him away from his family. The social services apparatus will soon be kicking in to "protect" the children during his absence. In dozens of other cases reported to Dufferin VOCA, when the charges came to trial a year or two later the crown moved to dismiss for lack of evidence, but by then the family was history, and could not be reassembled. We hope Mr Wood can find competent legal advice quickly to avoid the usual bad outcome. After the expanded article, we enclose a comment by the reader who pointed out the item.

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It's alleged he threw his three-year-old onto a smouldering firepit at Valens

September 26, 2009, Dana Brown, The Hamilton Spectator, (Sep 26, 2009)

A 38-year-old Beamsville man accused of throwing his three-year-old son into a campfire has been released on $3,500 bail.

Justin Wood appeared in a Hamilton court yesterday, facing charges of aggravated assault and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

"The overall allegation is, that a male person dropped a child in a smoldering firepit," said Hamilton police Superintendent John Petz.

It's alleged that on Sept. 12, Wood threw his child in a campfire, which caused his son to be burned. There was no word yesterday on how badly the child was injured.

According to someone camping with Wood at the time, the incident took place at Valens Conservation Area. The person did not want to discuss the matter further.

An arrest warrant was issued for Wood on Wednesday and he was in bail court yesterday.

During his hearing, Wood was neatly dressed in the prisoner's box, with a dark sweater and collared shirt underneath.

There is a publication ban on evidence presented at the bail hearing.

Wood has several conditions attached to his release, including living away from his home, taking all prescribed medication and continuing all medical and psychiatric treatment until being discharged or until the court matter is dealt with.

Wood's access to his kids has also been restricted. His wife declined to speak to The Spectator yesterday.

dbrown@thespec.com, 905-526-4629

Source: Hamilton Spectator

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We will name the author of this comment only if he asks to be identified

As a parent, and avid camper it would seem to me that this is a normal accident that normal active parents in Ontario are all at risk of.

How many of us have had family camp outs? How many of us have gathered for songs of merriment, renditions of scary stories, fables, while allowing the children to poke at the flames with sticks loaded with sticky gooey marshmallows?

When the lights go out in Ontario parks, they really go out for the night. The kiddies have a blast playing with flashlights and often lose them in the dark. So when an active child is laid to rest for the night, and the exhausted parent is faced with the dreaded: "Daddy I gotta pee". Invariably there is the scramble to find shoes, flash lights (that often are never found in the dark), zippers to be free of sleeping bags and tents, then there is the scramble through darkened campsites, littered with coolers, camp chairs, guidelines from tents and every ten feet or so there is also a metal tire rim 1/2 way implanted in the ground. The dreaded fire pit. Imagine trying to dodge all these obstacles in the dark with a very tired toddler in your arms wondering if you can just get to that light at the end of the road. The bathroom!

The man is released on a $3500.00 bail. There is a publication ban on evidence presented at the bail hearing. Wood has several conditions attached to his release, including living away from his home, taking all prescribed medication and continuing all medical and psychiatric treatment until being discharged or until the court matter is dealt with.

Wood's access to his kids has also been restricted. His wife declined to speak to The Spectator yesterday.

Ontario Parks have an 11 o'clock lights out policy. If the accident occurred after 11, why was there a smoldering firepit in a park policed by Ontario park rangers? If this man did not have medical/psychiatric issues prior to this accident why is he being forced to undergo treatment and examinations prior a finding of guilt? Anyone who has ever dealt with the systemic biases that are applied while families are under investigation, knows what the term tort outrage means. Call in the Damage Control — CAS is on its way!!

I can only imagine what this father is going to look like two years from now at trial, after being kicked out of his home, marginalized out his children's lives, poked, prodded and medicated by the medical and psychiatric community. Needled and incensed by repeated appearances in family and criminal court. How long will it take for him to scream: Yes I did it!! According to the Goudge inquest most families disintegrated within months of the "allegations". Welcome to the Merry Go Round!

Quite a price to pay for dropping a child in a provincial conservation area.