When news broke last week that Victoria police had arrested a woman for abducting her baby daughter 18 years ago, there was no one more shocked than Greater Victoria school district superintendent John Gaiptman.
The idea that the woman B次元官网网址� a former president of Victoria High SchoolB次元官网网址檚 parent advisory council B次元官网网址� and her daughter B次元官网网址� a Vic High graduate B次元官网网址� were going by aliases seemed unfathomable.
Patricia OB次元官网网址橞yrne, who police say was living in Victoria for a number of years as Pam Whalen, is now in Toronto, facing one charge of abduction in violation of a custody order, dating back to 1993.
OB次元官网网址橞yrne and Joe Chisholm had just been granted joint custody, when OB次元官网网址橞yrne allegedly left Toronto with their 20-month-old.
On Wednesday, the judge in the case placed a publication ban on the daughterB次元官网网址檚 name.
OB次元官网网址橞yrneB次元官网网址檚 motive for going to B次元官网网址渟uch extraordinary lengthsB次元官网网址� is still a mystery, but will likely come to light at trial, said Det.-Sgt. Dean Burks, who oversees the Toronto police youth and family services investigation unit, which is leading the case.
As well as investigating those who may have aided and abetted OB次元官网网址橞yrne over the years, detectives will likely levy additional charges against OB次元官网网址橞yrne in the next two weeks related to impersonation or identity fraud, forgery and obtaining government documents in assumed names.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 certainly not a groundbreaking revelation that she was able to do it,B次元官网网址� Burks said.
B次元官网网址淥nce you can get one piece of government identification, everything else will fall into place,B次元官网网址� he added.
Detectives say they donB次元官网网址檛 yet know if OB次元官网网址橞yrne stole her cover identity, and that of her daughter, or whether she created them.
Regardless, her alternate identity was strong enough that she worked in public affairs for the provincial government, from 2004 until May 2011.
But OB次元官网网址橞yrneB次元官网网址檚 daughter learned of the deception on her own B次元官网网址渋n the not too distant pastB次元官网网址� and confronted her mother about her abduction, Burks said. B次元官网网址淲hen (investigators and counsellors) met with her last week and informed her what had taken place, she wasnB次元官网网址檛 surprised.B次元官网网址�
The daughter didnB次元官网网址檛 go to police, however. Rather, an anonymous tipster told the Missing Children Society of Canada in September that OB次元官网网址橞yrne was living on the Island as Pamela Whalen. In early October, Toronto investigators called Saanich police, who connected OB次元官网网址橞yrne to a Victoria address.
VicPD was called in to conduct surveillance to verify the womanB次元官网网址檚 identity, before her arrest last Thursday at her Fernwood home.
The case has left educators in the Greater Victoria school district struggling for answers to difficult questions about the use of false identities.
B次元官网网址淲hen the news first broke, I went and reviewed the information (on file) and as IB次元官网网址檓 looking at (the young womanB次元官网网址檚 photocopied) passport IB次元官网网址檓 thinking there has to be a mistake,B次元官网网址� said Gaiptman, who has never known a case like it in his 30 years as an educator, including 11 as School District 61B次元官网网址檚 superintendent of schools.
All it took for OB次元官网网址橞yrne to enrol her daughter at Vic High was proof of residence and a birth certificate, which Gaiptman said was authentic.
After graduating in 2009, OB次元官网网址橞yrneB次元官网网址檚 daughter used her passport a few months later to re-enroll in a continuing education program at S.J. Willis to upgrade marks in two courses.
B次元官网网址淕iven the amount of custodial issues out there we want to see the birth certificate,B次元官网网址� Gaiptman said. B次元官网网址淗aving said that, this was somebody that provided us with the government documents and as it turned out they were incorrect.B次元官网网址�
Gaiptman said he doesnB次元官网网址檛 know what more the educational system could have done when the teen was initially enrolled in school.
B次元官网网址淚s there any way, as the attending school, we could have caught it?B次元官网网址� he wondered.
The answer is no, Burks said.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think the school boards or anybody could have done any more,B次元官网网址� the 25-year police veteran said.
B次元官网网址淵ou have to take people (such as parents) at their word. You canB次元官网网址檛 create an air of paranoia, that people are automatically going to be showing up and having kids enrolled in school under false names.B次元官网网址�
