This is a family law case where the mother MG was seeking sole parenting time and decision-making responsibility for her three children as well as a restraining order, citing the father’s (JG) history of violence, substance abuse, and neglect. In addition to physical abuse and threats of violence, including from JG and his mother who threatened to call 911 and report that the mother was “crazy” or even kill her if she tried to leave with the children (paras.50-51) along with claims he would have her beaten up or killed by his drug dealers and that he was connected with motorcycle gangs (para. 53), JG also engaged in coercive, controlling behaviour, encouraged his favoured child to imitate his behaviour toward MG (throwing food and taunting with insults), and animal abuse.
Animal abuse listed under facts included throwing MG’s cat to the floor and punishing the animal for bladder or bowel accidents by shoving their face into it, increasing the cat’s stress and frequency of such accidents to the point where MG had the animal euthanized to spare them further abuse (para. 61). JG applied the same treatment to the family dog acquired later, as well as abusive discipline such as beating with a chair and using a remote shock device on its highest setting should the animal have an accident in the house, despite not permitting MG to take the dog out to relieve themselves out of fear that MG may flirt with the neighbour; the few times she was permitted to take the dog outdoors, MG was instructed to keep her eyes down and look at the ground “to avoid flirtatious glancing” (paras. 62-63). The dog was given to MG’s mother to care for in order to protect them from further abuse.
In August 2024, Child Protection Services and the RCMP launched an investigation into allegations against JG of child sexual misconduct (para. 77) with the two older children, whom he took into the washroom and spent excessive time with the door locked behind him (paras.104-105). MG relayed to her therapist that she had walked in on JG in the bathtub with their oldest child on at least two occasions and in one incident found him fondling the child’s penis, “rubbing it with movements that went far beyond cleaning the child” (para. 116), which led to the therapist filing the disclosure that led to the joint investigation (para. 117).
The Court granted MG sole parenting time and decision-making responsibility, as well as a restraining order against JG to protect herself and the three children.
https://canlii.ca/t/kc7dj