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TORONTO -- A retired GM worker turned amateur detective breathed a sigh of relief Tuesday when he heard Durham Police had charged Greg Carter for posing as a psychologist.
The charges came more than a year after the 69-year-old man lost his 10-year-old granddaughter — and his life savings — in a custody battle where “Dr. Greg Carter” testified.
“They took on the wrong guy,” the burly man said gruffly, sitting in his home north of Bowmanville Tuesday. “I’ve never lost a fight.”
Because the case involved the Children’s Aid Society at one point, the man cannot be named to avoid identifying his granddaughter. The man and his wife originally had sole custody and went to Carter to get his granddaughter counselling. As the girl’s father fought to win custody of the girl, both sides agreed to have Carter do a $7,000 assessment. He eventually became a witness for the girl’s father.
“He totally turned on us; we have no idea why,” he said. “I was just shocked by what he wrote and how he testified.”
A court ruled against them and the man and woman lost custody of their granddaugther after she spent almost 10 years in their care. The grandfather estimated he spent more than $100,000 waging the custody battle.
After losing the case, the man spent 11 months investigating the “doctor” that had helped sway the judge’s decision.
“I just dug and kept digging,” he said. “I’m very persistent.
“Nobody has been checking,” he added. “The whole system needs to be looked at. No one did their due diligence.”
The doctor testified that his doctorate came from Pacific Western University in 1991, according to court documents.
That university, which has since undergone an ownership change, was the subject of much controversy in the U.S. and branded as a diploma mill in a report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs.
After 11 months of compiling information, the man handed his material last November to the Durham Regional Police. On Monday, they arrested and charged Carter.
Although the charges still have to be proven in court, the man hopes Carter’s case will shine a light on every court case he was involved with.
The man can’t help but wonder how many other families have been changed forever based on the allegedly bogus psychologist’s testimony.
He and his wife now only see their granddaughter, one of 10 grandkids, every other weekend.
Leaning against the kitchen counter of her home, staring at a wall filled with their granddaughter’s artwork collected over the years, the grandmother’s eyes well up with tears as she recalled the heartbreaking day they had to tell their charge she was no longer able to live with them.
“It’s been 13-and-a-half months and I still can’t talk about it without crying,” the petite senior said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
The couple and their granddaughter have to cope with those feelings every two weeks when their visit comes to an end.
“She doesn’t want to leave and we hate to see her go,” the distraught grandmother said. “This was her home.”
Attempts to contact Carter at his office on Tuesday were unsuccessful.