Federici v. Mercer: The Story Behind the Lawsuit

A phone call this morning alerted me to the fact that the Virginia psychologist Ronald S. Federici is suing me and other critics in Fairfax, VA (CL10-16657, filed Nov. 24). As of today, I have not yet been served in this matter, but I assume that his complaint is that I have defamed him and interfered with his business, as he already brought such a suit in Small Claims Court and lost it, but is allowed to appeal.

What is behind this suit? The event that seems to have triggered it is that I published on my former Psychology Today blog a piece which I will present below. This piece, which I entitled “The Hungry Boy”, was based on a published opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals (www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/public/coa/opinions/pdf/090504-1.pdf), which discussed Federici’s involvement in an adoptive family situation that resulted in the incarceration of both parents for felony child abuse. The COA opinion quotes testimony Federici gave during the trial as well as the statements of the abused boy. (After writing “The Hungry Boy”, I obtained the transcript of the original trial, which does not counter in any way the statements in the COA opinion.)

Shortly after the publication of “The Hungry Boy”, Federici complained to and filed suit against me, Psychology Today, and other persons. Psychology Today took down “The Hungry Boy” and told me not to mention Federici’s name again. Although Psychology Today was served with a summons to appear in Fairfax, VA to answer the suit, and although I warned them that they should not default, they did not send a representative to appear in court and as a result a judgment for $5000 was given against them. I appeared and had a chance to see that Federici did not present evidence that he had been harmed by what I wrote nor that what I wrote was untrue (both necessary for a successful defamation case in the United States). As a result, the judge found for me.

Over the following several weeks, I did not mention Federici’s name on my blog, as instructed, but I did mention that I had been in court in a defamation case. Psychology Today responded to this by freezing my account on the grounds that I had broken an agreement with them, and I moved my blogging to http://www.childmyths.blogspot.com/.

Having lost his case in Small Claims Court, Federici had the option of an appeal to a higher court, and he filed this appeal against me and some other people. (He apparently came to some agreement with Psychology Today.) However, after some weeks, he decided on a “non-suit”-- to drop the case for the time being but to keep the option of reviving it. This revival is what he has apparently done as of Nov. 24, 2010.

What did “The Hungry Boy” say that was so disturbing to Federici? I’ll show you by posting the piece below.



The Hungry Boy: An Adoption Story, With Comments

Is starvation the key to good discipline and loving relationships in adoptive families?

In several posts on this blog, and in print publications over the last ten years, I have alluded to the suggestion by unconventional therapists that withholding food from adopted children is an effective way to shape desirable attitudes and behavior. Today, I’d like to tell some of the story of adoptive parents who took this advice, the consequences for themselves and their adopted child--- and the absence of consequences for the therapist who acknowledged in court that he had provided the treatment plan. I draw my information about this case from a document of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, issued Jan.19, 2010, and available at http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/ , as well as from a document prepared for the defense in this appeal and available at http://www.ncids.org/.

Here is the basic story. Paul and Leslie Salvetti adopted in the 1990s a little boy who had been born in Russia in 1993. Leslie later died, Paul re-married, and the new wife, Debbie, became mother to the boy, known as “Pesha”. At some point, the family’s functioning became less than ideal; “Pesha” reported to social services that Debbie had hit him with a frying pan and baseball bat, among other complaints, but it is not clear whether this was investigated.

According to the appeals court documents, Paul and Debbie felt that “Pesha” was “umanageable” by the time he was 13. In about February, 2007, the Salvettis consulted Ronald Federici, a clinical psychologist with a Psy.D. degree, licensed in Virginia, about their problems with “Pesha”. (The fee for this consultation was $5200 for three days of work.) Federici made a number of recommendations about appropriate treatment of “Pesha”, including the suggestion that ordinary meals should be contingent on improved behavior, but that “Pesha” should be provided with bologna sandwiches and fruit in any case.

The Salvettis also confined “Pesha” to his bedroom, where they covered the windows and removed most furniture , and these were the circumstances of his life for three months. “Pesha” later described himself as “cold and hungry” during this time. “Pesha” eventually escaped from the house and made his way to the authorities; at this time he was hospitalized for a week, during which time he gained 10 pounds. The Salvettis pled guilty to felony child abuse (intentionally inflicting physical injury, starvation) and in 2008 were sentenced to a period of imprisonment.

During the Salvettis’ trial, Ronald Federici testified on their behalf, and, unusually for a psychologist, commented on medical and genetic issues as well as psychological concerns; expert witnesses are generally expected to speak within their area of professional expertise. It is of particular interest that Federici testified to his belief that “Pesha” had not been substantially deprived of food. Federici and the defense attorney appear to have taken refuge in the ambiguity of the English language and to have interpreted the term “withheld food” to mean “withheld all food and liquid” rather than “reduced the amount and type of food available”. The defense argued that because some food had been provided, food had therefore not been withheld.

In addition, Federici testified to his opinion that children’s rage could cause them to lose weight, and that this, rather than food deprivation, was the cause of “Pesha”s” condition. (Although the implications of this statement were not discussed in the court documents that are available, I should point out that there is no known evidence to support Federici’s opinion.)
.
So, what can we conclude from this case? Is starvation the key to good discipline and loving relationships? If not, what are its consequences? In this case, the consequence for “Pesha” was a terrifying experience and the loss of the home he knew. For Paul and Debbie Salvetti, the consequence was a period of imprisonment. For Ronald Federici , the consequence of his many activities has been popularity with the media, including a recent interview with National Public Radio in which he commented on the latest Russian adoptee scandal. Others who give similar recommendations have also found them lucrative.

If you are a member of an adoptive family, please note that you are not one of the people likely to benefit from using the withholding of food as a child-rearing technique.


*** That’s the end of “The Hungry Boy”. If you’re not sure whether my statements were accurate, you can read the North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion on line. Incidentally, the appeal in this case had nothing to do with any facts about what had actually happened, or any discussion of the appropriateness of Federici’s advice to the parents. The appeal had to do with the type of plea made by the parents in order to avoid trial, and whether they had actually understood that they would go to prison.