What logical fallacy is described?

Defense Attorney Oncken: Okay. When children report bizarre details of abuse, such as a dog’s penis being cut off or a dog’s penis being used on them or any other details that to an adult may sound bizarre, what’s the significance of that when you hear those kind of details?

Therapist Robert McLaughlin: In some instances, as hard as it is to believe, the significance is that it's true, that those things actually happen; and there certainly are instances of bizarre abuse of children where those kinds of thing happen.

-- Robert McLaughlin, offering proof that the bizarre dog-castration story was literally true.

Answer

The exchange between Defense Attorney Oncken and Therapist Robert McLaughlin may contain a logical fallacy known as "Appeal to Possibility" or "Possibility Fallacy." This fallacy occurs when someone assumes that because something is possible, it is therefore probable or true.

In this context, McLaughlin suggests that the bizarre accounts of abuse are significant because they can be true, as bizarre things have happened in some instances. However, just because they *could* happen does not provide evidence that they *did* happen in this specific case.

Additionally, an "Appeal to Ignorance" fallacy may also be at play here, where a claim is considered true simply because it hasn't been proven false. McLaughlin implies that because there are instances where bizarre abuse has occurred, the bizarre claim should be taken as likely or true unless proven otherwise, which is flawed reasoning.