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Social Worker in Love
September 21, 2012 permalink
In today's soap opera, Batshaw Centres took Maria's toddler son. Batshaw worker Peter read Maria's file and found that she was emotionally vulnerable and promiscuous. Peter poured out his heart to Maria and offered to help her get her boy back. Maria was so grateful she fell in love with Peter. Their love affair lasted until Maria became pregnant. Peter urged Maria to get an abortion but she refused. Peter threatened to kill himself if his name appeared on the birth certificate. Peter left Maria and has not seen her since. Maria Sanderson is now suing Peter Fergus and Batshaw Youth and Family Centres for $500,000.
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Pregnant woman sues Batshaw, social worker
A woman who had an affair with her Batshaw Youth and Family Centres social worker while her young son was in protection — and became pregnant — is suing the organization and the alleged father for half a million dollars.
Maria Sanderson met Peter Fergus in June 2011 at Montreal Youth Court “after a police incident” in which Sanderson’s 18-month-old son was taken into care, the lawsuit alleges. The two allegedly developed a relationship immediately, initiated by Fergus, and Sanderson claims she told him she would do anything for him because she was so thankful to him for helping her get her son back. She felt like Fergus was her hero.
She said she fell in love.
According to the suit, Fergus suddenly ended the relationship when Sanderson got pregnant.
Sanderson said and she felt “preyed upon” because Fergus had read in her file that she was “in a vulnerable position, emotionally fragile and desperately wanted” her son back. He also knew she had been a victim of sexual abuse and was promiscuous.
Claire Roy, spokesperson for Batshaw, said the organization couldn’t say much since it hasn’t filed a statement of defence yet, but confirmed Fergus was fired from Batshaw on March 30.
Fergus’s lawyer did not return phone calls from The Gazette, and Fergus did not respond to an email request for an interview.
According to court documents, in the days following their first meeting, Fergus called Sanderson, asking her personal questions about her marriage and saying he was in an unhappy marriage and had a 6-year-old son.
After several “intense” phone conversations, Sanderson expressed her feelings for Fergus and he said “he was very fond of her as well,” court documents say.
During a visit to Sanderson’s home, Fergus allegedly sat on her bed to discuss her son, then leaned over and kissed her. According to the suit, the two then had unprotected sex, which they would continue to do three or four times a week until mid-July 2011.
But on July 24, Fergus allegedly sent Sanderson an email explaining he wasn’t in love and simply wanted intercourse. But a few days later, he wrote to Sanderson to say he cared about her, the suit says.
On Aug. 26, 2011, Sanderson discovered she was pregnant and claims the father had to be Fergus since he’d been her only sexual partner since the birth of her son. Fergus encouraged her to have an abortion, Sanderson says, but she refused.
Sanderson claims she heard nothing from Fergus for a month, until he finally replied to her eighth text message by telling her the relationship was over and that he wished her well. He threatened to commit suicide if his name appeared on the baby’s birth certificate, the suit says.
On Oct. 12, 2011, the two allegedly discussed baby names and Fergus’s attendance at the birth, but that was the last Sanderson saw of him. During phone calls that followed, Fergus told Sanderson that he didn’t love her, had too much work and no time to speak with her any more, the suit says.
Sanderson claims she was crushed.
In a motion filed in May, Batshaw tried to have the case thrown out, claiming the organization was in no way responsible for what happened and that Quebec Superior Court doesn’t have jurisdiction to award what amounts to child support if Fergus were found to be the father. The motion was dismissed in June.
Sanderson’s lawyer, Michel Perreault, was granted a court order to collect a DNA sample from Fergus to determine whether he is the father, but Perreault said they haven’t been able to find him.
Source: Montreal Gazette
Addendum: A follow-up a year later discloses why Sanderson's lawyer could not find Peter Fergus. He committed suicide in May 2012.
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Mom sues child protection agency after affair with case-worker results in pregnancy
The mother in question with her face blurred for privacy reasons.Credits: JEAN-FRANCOIS VILLENEUVE/24 HEURES/AGENCE QMIA mother is suing the city's child protection services for $500,000 after an employee impregnated her and then committed suicide, QMI Agency has learned.
The mother, whose identity is protected by law and can't be published, claims a former employee of Montreal's English-language child services bureau, known as Batshaw, manipulated her for sex.
After the mother sued, the agency fired its employee, Peter Fergus, who then committed suicide in May 2012.
The mother first met Fergus in 2011, when the agency temporarily took custody of her second child.
Fergus, who was in charge of the woman's file, made sexual advances towards her during their first meeting, the lawsuit alleges.
The woman claims they had sex during their second meeting and she discovered she was pregnant in August 2011.
Fergus allegedly ended the relationship in October, and the woman contacted a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against Fergus and Batshaw in January 2012.
Batshaw spokeswoman Claire Roy said the agency suspended Fergus as soon as it heard of the woman's accusations.
"After an investigation, (Fergus) was fired in March 30, 2012," she said.
Fergus killed himself in May 2012. DNA tests proved that he fathered the child, who was born in April 2012.
The woman's lawyer, Michel Perreault, said Fergus could have had other "potential victims."
"(Fergus) told (my client) that he had flirted with other clients," Perreault said. "We think he was a predator."
The case has not yet gone to trial. The lawsuit's allegations haven't been proven in court.
Source: Sun News Network
