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Wronglyâ€"accused policeman says system failed to protect his family (Continued from page 1) year at work because how do you work in a police environment when you‘ve got criminal charges hanging over your head?" Croucher asks, "And at home, it has been so devastating to the family." Croucher says the charges were on his mind all the time. "It was in front of you like a huge cement block. You couldn‘t see around it." While awaiting trial, Croucher says he had to take a couple of months off work on stress leave and was eventually transferred from his duty officer‘s posiâ€" tion in Georgetown to the chief‘s staff at Oakville headquarters. During his trial, Croucher heard his daughter describe a series of incidents in which she alleged he had used excesâ€" sive force in restraining or disciplining her. However, three of his children â€" two of them his biological children and the third, a 14â€"yearâ€"old adopted daughter â€" testified in his favor. His 16â€"yearâ€"old biological son described him as an ideal parent who deserved a medal. Last Friday, Justice Marion Lane acquitted Croucher of five charges. Two others had been previously withdrawn by the Crown for lack of substance. Both Croucher and his wife say they‘re relieved by the outcome, but don‘t view it as a victory. "It‘s not over," Croucher‘s wife says. We have three children who are no longer living at home. This thing has divided our family. There is no victory here. It‘s just a horrendous thing to hapâ€" pen to a family." Since last June, their adopted son has lived in a foster home in Oakville, she says. Their 14â€"yearâ€"old adopted daughter has been in a foster home since last November. The girl is a bioâ€" logical sister of their older adopted daughter. Only the couple‘s biological chilâ€" dren â€" including a 21â€"yearâ€"old daughter â€"remain in their home. "I have such an overwhelming sadâ€" ness," Croucher‘s wife says. "We were a big family...we‘ll never be again." Both parents say they don‘t think they could have gotten through the past year without the support of individual police officers, friends, and church members. The couple received more than 100 supportive phone calls and more than 50 cards and notes when news first broke of Croucher‘s charges. Later, as many as 25 friends, including police officers and their wives, attended Croucher‘s trial, where they handed out stickâ€"on hearts and heart candies. But Croucher said he feels let down by the police system and the Children‘s Aid Society, who, he says, didn‘t invesâ€" tigate the allegations properly and should never have laid charges. He says his daughter, whose allegaâ€" tions led to most of the charges, had previously complained of abuse on a number of occasions, but each time the Children‘s Aid Society didn‘t find enough evidence to investigate further. "I don‘t blame the kids. I blame the system that should have protected us from frivolous allegations like that." Croucher‘s wife says the system seems to offer no protection for parents. Children can walk into a police station any time and charges can be laid simply on their word that abuse has occurred, she says. "I feel they (systems) let us down because I think we live in a society of adults who are afraid of children. They‘re afraid of the power that chilâ€" dren have now. You talk to any teacher, they‘re afraid to touch a child. Even parents are afraid to discipline their children." Ironically, Croucher‘s wife, is a board member of the Children‘s Aid Society of Halton. In 1991, both she and her husband founded the Adoptive Parents Association of Halton. Croucher, the province‘s former 9â€"1â€" 1 consultant, also helped setâ€"up child abuse teams across Halton about 15 years ago, when he was with the force‘s youth bureau. DOUBLE KING ... §ET ‘594 YEAR GUARANTEE 374 SET 654 394 SET 694 554 SET 994 DOUBLE.....334 SET 574 QUEEN......359 set 609 KING........524 SET 889 SINGLE DOUBLE QUEEN MATTRESS MATTRESS MATTRESS VC 0 C ? * "LveTEM Croucher, who hopes his legal fees won‘t exceed $20,000, says his court case has hastened his decision to take early retirement next month, after a 29â€" year police career. "I‘m going to try to put what‘s left of our family back together and recover from this experience," he says. But his wife, breaking down, says, "This whole thing has changed our lives forever. We‘ll never be the same again." â€"e t i 25 YEAR GUARANTEE sySTENM SET $704 DOUBLE..... 179 sEt 304 QUEEN......209 sEt 364 FIRM SUPPORT SINGLE MATTRESS * TABLES CHAIRS * JELLY CUPBOARDS _ . * MIRRORS PANTRIES * CHINA CABINETS * ROCKING CHAIRS * SHELVES * WALL UNITS + COFFEE AND END TABLES HOURS: TVES., WED. FAL 10 A.M.â€"5:30 PM THURS. 10 A. 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