3 brothers in custody dispute to live with mom, no counselling: judge

A Brampton, Ont., judge decided Thursday that three brothers caught up in a complicated custody dispute can live with their mother.

Ontario Court Justice Steven Clark said would accept a peace deal a teenager brokered with his warring parents after an emotional reunion.

Saying action, not words, were needed, Clark also rejected an Ontario agency's demands to force counselling on the brothers.

The parents and their 19-year-old son struck a deal over the weekend.

The Office of the Children's Lawyer, which Clark appointed to represent the interests of the younger siblings, was opposed to the deal.

It insisted the boys first undergo specialized therapy for parental alienation, a controversial syndrome in which children are said to be brainwashed by one parent against the other.

But the teen was adamantly opposed to the idea, saying he has never been his father's puppet, and maintains the very notion of parental alienation is suspect and has damaged the family.

The deal involves having him and his 12- and 14-year-old siblings live with their mom after years of estrangement.

The teen garnered attention by seeking legal standing in the custody battle, saying he would seek custody of his brothers if his divorced parents couldn't come to some kind of deal.

Last November, the two younger brothers were committed to an adolescent psychiatric ward for five weeks.

The judge had been trying to decide whether the teen should have access to his brothers, but was now asked to decide whether the family-brokered reunification could go ahead.

Clark denied a request from the Office of the Children's Lawyer to impose a gag order to keep the family from speaking to the media, whom he commended for responsible reporting.