[6][7] In 1993, Frontline's "Prisoners of Silence" featured the story of Gerry Gherardi of New Hampshire, who was accused, through FC-generated messages, of sexually abusing his son.
[9] In the same year, Bernard Rimland reported in a New York Times article that he knew of about 25 cases where families were accused through facilitated communication of sexually abusing their children.
[14] About the same time FC was gaining popularity in the United States in the early 1990s, the Guardianship and Administration Board in Melbourne, Australia, was reviewing a landmark case involving allegations of sexual abuse and facilitated communication.
[15][16] Following a 15-month custody battle, the Guardianship Board accepted extensive evidence from psychological and other tests that agreed that the woman had a severe intellectual disability, was unable to differentiate between letters of the alphabet, and could not have authored the messages.
Double-blind testing, conducted by psychologists Alan Hudson and Beatrice Melita, demonstrated that the only meaningful responses obtained through FC were when the facilitator knew the questions being asked of Carla.
Bennett Leventhal, head of pediatric psychology at the University of Chicago, testified in the Storch's defense, saying:The obligation of an investigator into a new technique is to show how it works.
[18]In 1992, the parents of Betsy Wheaton, a 16-year-old nonspeaking person with autism, were, through facilitated communication, falsely accused of sexually abusing their daughter.
Long before they even thought to put pen to paper and write their extravagant tales of extraordinary awakenings, they should have heeded not just the technical lessons of Clever Hans, but the findings of more than a century of scientific and practical investigations of automatic writing, experimenter bias, mental telepathy, unconscious influence, subjective validation, stimulus leakage, expectancy effects, deception and self-delusion.
Had they exercised due scientific diligence, the developers of FC would have quickly realized that they had done nothing better than turn pliant arms into Ouija planchettes and reinvent the seance.
[25] In 1993, David and Jean Lehman of Newmarket, Ontario, were charged with sexually abusing their 20-year-old son, Derek, based solely on evidence obtained through facilitated communication.
[26] In 1997, a Michigan couple, who had lost custody of their daughter, was awarded $750,000 by a federal jury when jurors concluded that the officials in the case "knew or should have known the girl's facilitated allegations of abuse were bogus.
"[27][28][29][30] In 1998, middle-aged John Pinnington changed careers to focus on the care and treatment of individuals with autism (having been inspired by his experiences with his own autistic step-son).
After several years of work in the field, Pinnington was hired by Thomley Hall College, a specialist facility for students aged 16–25 with autism, where he was promoted to the position of Deputy Headmaster in 2004.
The baseless accusations, made during FC sessions, permanently ended Pinnington's career as an educator and so seriously damaged his reputation that he has been unable to find employment of any kind.
"[40] The case fell apart due to lack of physical evidence of abuse and facilitated testimony that contained information inconsistent with the Wendrow family, lifestyle and living arrangements: relatives that did not exist, Christian theology attributed to observant Jewish parents, nonexistent rooms and photos.
[39] A wrongful arrest suit was settled for $1.8 million, which, according to the attorney representing the Police Department, was a business decision made by the insurance company and was not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
Jordan, at the time, was under the impression Mirra wanted to die because of alleged sexual abuse typed out during sessions involving FC.
In reviewing typed messages provided by Jordan of her son's disclosures, court officials questioned whether Mirra had the capacity to understand or spell words like "aggressively" and "sadistic".
[43] In November 2014, the jury accepted Jordan's claim of extreme emotional disturbance and found her guilty of first-degree manslaughter in the death of her son.
[47] In 2012, the parents of a young woman with severe intellectual disabilities, autism, and profound communication problems were reunited with their daughter after the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales concluded they had been wrongfully arrested on suspicion of serious sexual assault obtained via FC.
[49] The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Services ruled that Wilson was still fit to practice because "he had shown remorse and insight into the errors he was highly unlikely to repeat."
"[50] The case raises questions about whether or not the teacher, Saul Fumero, made up the allegations and whether the district was aware he was using a discredited communication method.
A Miami-Dade Schools spokeswoman did not say whether the district would review Fumero's actions, but noted that teachers are required by law to immediately report allegations of abuse.
Plantan states to podcaster Amanda Knox that he wanted to believe that his daughter had been communicating with her own words over the years they were writing to each other and on his monthly visits with her.
The Hanover County Circuit Court judge refused to believe Plantan who was held in prison ten months until he was released clearing him of all charges.
Experts such as Howard Shane and James Todd advised Plantan's legal council explaining facilitated communication and the ideomotor effect.
Plantan filled a civil suit "against his ex-wife, the occupational therapists, and the investigating officer for malicious prosecution, but that effort ultimately failed."