An Ontario mother says she was shocked to hear police won’t be filing charges against a Toronto-area 3D ultrasound clinic, after she and 20 others came forward to say they had been given identical prenatal images.
Durham Regional Police said Monday they had closed their investigation into BabyView 3D Prenatal Imaging after receiving 21 complaints about the business from across the region and determining a “computer error” led to the wrong photos to be issued and no criminal intent.
“A lot of the girls got the same image and some of them were darkened, lightened, some of them were mirror-flipped — so the face was facing the opposite way — so I’m quite speechless, I really don’t know what to say,” Jenn Cusimano of Oshawa, Ont. told Global News Monday.
“I was so shocked when the officer called me this morning to tell me that. I was upset, angry, I don’t even know.”
READ MORE: Expectant mothers claim they were given identical 3D ultrasound image from same clinic
Cusimano said she was devastated but thought perhaps it was a mistake and has since started a Facebook group for other mothers to come forward with similar experiences. She added she had paid about $160 for a gender determination, two photos and a heart monitor.
She said she posted the picture on Facebook last month, and then to an international group of about 1,500 women with babies due in September 2016, when someone noticed the similarities.
“I’m pretty upset about the whole thing,” she said.
“All the stress and the emotions that I went through finding out that the picture was fake and now just thinking that they’re probably getting away with it just makes me feel sick.”
Cusimano also said she and other mothers in the group were discussing taking legal action by moving forward with a class action lawsuit.
“Maybe just so we can get our full refund back, because they’re only offering $30 or $40 back just for the pictures,” she said.
“A lot of the girls were also told the wrong gender, I know at least five of them were told the wrong gender and the whole experience was just a nightmare.”
A spokesman for DRPS was not immediately available for comment but Cusimano said she was told police investigated at BabyView’s Pickering, Ont. location for several days before determining there was a technical glitch with their computer system and that no charges would be laid.
BabyView put out a statement on Facebook last month apologizing for the situation and blaming it on a glitch — but that post is no longer on the site.
The company could not be reached for comment Monday, but a new statement was issued on May 19 that said the 3D imaging service was “compromised because of some technical glitch.”
WATCH: Clinic accused of repeatedly giving same ultrasound photo to different parents
“We have already put some new protocols and procedures in place to avoid such incident in the future. We do apologize to our valuable customers for this unfortunate incident,” the statement read.
“To compensate we are looking forward to get the details of all those clients who were impacted and if they truly believe they were handed over the wrong pictures please come forward.”
Cusimano said she was offered a discount at a different 3D ultrasound imaging centre in the region, but still feels doubtful about the entire process after her experience with BabyView.
“Although I’m sure the pictures are real that time you still have that uneasy feeling,” she said. “That thought in your head of ‘What if?'”
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