Flashback: Some Greatest Hits with Paul Reitman
I've had more than one interesting conversation with Reitman by email over the years; here are some of the best moments.
Paul Reitman played a small but critical role in the Rucki case: David Rucki Vs Sandra Grazzini-Rucki (SGR).
He came on in August 2012 and was gone within three weeks. In that time, he issued a critical report and recommended the services of James Gilbertson to provide therapy.
After one visited which lasted less than thirty minutes, he wrote this report.
“The children appear very depressed and browbeaten.” Reitman wrote in his report to the court. “Their mother appears out of touch and suffering from a personality disorder.”
He concluded, “The children will benefit from being removed from their mother’s custody and placed in a therapeutic foster home.”
The report was used as the basis for a motion by David Rucki’s attorney which led to a hearing on September 5, 2012.
Neither parent attended the hearing: though their attorneys did.
That led to an order by Judge David Knutson which ordered Sandra Grazzini-Rucki out of her home on September 7, 2012. Knutson further ordered her children live with their paternal aunt, not even their father. SGR was given three hours to vacate her home.
The kids, upon coming home and finding out their mother was missing, ran to a police station and were then temporarily allowed to live with their maternal aunt.
Meanwhile, Jim Gilbertson was accused by one of the Rucki girls- Samantha- of touching her inappropriately during a court hearing break. Starting at about 3:10 of the video below.
Then, on April 12, 2013, he wrote an article in Minnesota Lawyer entitled “In Divore, alienation a big risk.” In it, he boasted of his contribution to success in the Rucki case.
I had a case whereby I recommended such a placement regarding a mother who was entrenched in resisting any type of reunification therapy, and the five children, ranging from 16 to 5, refused to see the father. The mother, after resisting reunification therapy, then alleged sexual abuse by the father to the children. The judge in the case did remove the children from the home. If the children are placed in a neutral environment, they will be more likely to disentangle their thoughts about the parent who has not seen them from the alienating beliefs they currently have, and reunification therapy cannot progress until this begins to happen.
Seven days later, the two oldest daughters- Samantha and Gianna- would run and remain missing for approximately two and a half years.
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