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Ontario judge bans girl, 11, from attending nudist camps
An Ontario family court judge has issued a temporary order prohibiting an 11-year-old girl from attending nudist camps, citing concerns about her mental health, safety, and the child’s own thoughts on getting naked in nature.
The girl’s father applied to the Superior Court of Justice for the order after learning his daughter had gone “naked camping” with her mother and maternal grandparents. Her parents never married, and they have repeatedly been involved in litigation concerning their daughter.
“I find that the situation calls for an interim order whereby, pending any further order of the court, neither parent, nor any other adult entrusted with care of the child, shall take the child to nudist/naturist camps, resorts or other recreational nudist/naturist events or activities,” Justice Ian F. Leach wrote in a recent decision.
The court heard that the girl’s father learned in October 2024 about his daughter going to a nudist camp with her mother and grandparents.
The girl was “upset with her mother” at the time over being scolded about telling someone the truth about an item of clothing they were wearing, said the April 27 decision.
“The child was said to have found the experience of being chastised for telling the truth to be ‘confusing and overwhelming.’ The child then mentioned the existence of ‘another secret (she was) really not supposed to tell, not even (to her) friends,’ before then sharing that she had been going ‘naked camping’ with her ‘mom, nana and papa’; i.e., with her mother and maternal grandparents. The child also was said to have further indicated to (her) father that she did not want to go ‘naked camping’ anymore.”
When the father followed up with his daughter’s mom and grandparents, they assured him “that the atmosphere at the naked camping locations was very safe, (e.g., with the child being supervised at all times), and that the child would not be made to go naked camping again if she did not want to go.”
The girl has indicated she no longer wants to attend nudist resorts. But her mother said her daughter has changed her mind and now wants to go “naked camping” again.
“My temporary order in that regard is based in large measure on what I regard as the court’s current inability to discern with clarity whether or not the child genuinely may have changed her mind about further participation in such activity and the extent to which such further participation would have a positive or detrimental impact on this particular child,” Leach said.
“I find it advisable to err on the side of caution in relation to such matters, and restrict the child’s attendance and/or participation in that regard, unless and until the court is provided with more objective and detailed information.”
The court heard of a “troubling incident at one of the nude campgrounds to which the child had been taken by (her) mother and maternal grandparents. The incident involved interaction between the child and an individual the child had described as a ‘creepy man’ or ‘scary man,’ whose behavior had frightened the child before the man then had been ‘kicked out’ of the camp for his inappropriate behavior; an incident which was one of the reasons stated by the child for no longer wanting to go on such naked camping outings.”
According to the judge, “the prolonged outstanding nature of the issue also was said to be causing the child distress, albeit for different reasons; i.e., with the (father) suggesting the child was anxious about having to return to such camps against her will, and the (mother) suggesting the child is anxious for different reasons, in that she very much wants to return to such camps and is disappointed, frustrated and confused by her inability to do so.”
The girl’s father claimed she “was being pressured by (her mother) and maternal grandparents to engage in an activity the child herself finds disturbing and/or unpleasant,” said the decision.
The girl’s “mother nevertheless was intent on resuming naked camping with the child and maternal grandparents because of her view that such nudist camps were/are ‘normal,’ ‘natural,’ and ‘safe.’”
The judge examined handwritten notes prepared by the 11-year-old after her dad discovered her mom had taken her to a nude resort.
“I do not want to go naked camping … I GET EATEN ALIVE,” she wrote of the insect bites. “No privacy.”
The girl has been diagnosed with “anxiety and depression with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after witnessing abuse,” said the decision.
The mother testified that her daughter “had gone naked camping with” her and her parents for six years.
According to her mom, the girl “made many friends at the naturist resort frequented by the family.”
She said the “child actually ‘loves to go’ to such naturist resorts, and has said so repeatedly.”
The mom suggested that safety concerns about the “creepy man” her daughter encountered at a nude resort “had been exaggerated or blown out of proportion.”
She “emphasized that naturist resorts ‘take every precaution to ensure a safe (and) healthy environment for all.’”
The judge pointed out that the girl in question, who is almost 12, was left alone at a nudist resort with the “creepy man” when she was 10. They were both naked for about 10 minutes while they played pool together.
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