Judge: Couple Accused of Rape 7 Years Ago Can Sue School, County

Nearly seven years after his disabled, speechless daughter used a controversial method of communication to accuse her father of repeatedly “banging her,” a West Bloomfield man and his wife may finally get their say in court.

Julian and Thal Wendrow’s lawsuit against Walled Lake Schools and Oakland County prosecutors is scheduled for trial on Oct. 8 in U.S. District Court under an order signed Wednesday by Judge John Corbett O’Meara, the Detroit Free Press reports.

The Wendrows were arrested in December 2007 after their autistic daughter, then 14, accused her father of repeatedly raping her and that her mother didn’t intervene. The accusations were made using a method known as “facilitated communication,” in which a Walled Lake Schools aide guided her hands across the keyboard.

Nationally, the case has been prominent because of the role facilitated communication, or FC, played in bringing the charges forward. Its champions say it opens new avenues of communication for non-speaking individuals. Critics say the communication is too easily manipulated by the facilitator.

FC hasn’t been approved for courtroom use.

The criminal case against the couple, who have another special-needs child, unraveled due to lack of evidence and the three charges were dropped. But the Wendrows, who spent 80 days in jail, said ordeal has torn their family apart.

Since the suit was filed in 2008, two defendants have exited the case through settlement agreements. The West Bloomfield Police Department was initially named in the suit, but settled with the couple for $1.8 million in 2009. The Michigan Department of Human Services settled last month, paying the couple $850,000.

Representatives of the two parties said the settlements weren’t an admission of wrongdoing or liability.

» Read the full story on the Detroit Free Press website.