Fla. Mother Acquitted in Piercing Case

[Ghost in the Machine]

Fla. Mother Acquitted in Piercing Case
Published: 10/26/07, 2:25 AM EDT

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - A woman who had her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex was acquitted of aggravated child abuse on Thursday.

The girl, now 16, had testified that her mother asked a friend in 2004 to shave the girl's head to make her unattractive to boys and later held her down for the piercing.

A jury deliberated for about three hours before deciding the mother's actions didn't involve punishment or malicious intent, or cause permanent damage or disfigurement.

The 39-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity, could have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

The girl was not in court for the verdict. Her guardian declined comment.

http://www.att.net/s/editorial.dll?bfromind=7814&eeid=5487345&_sitecat=1522&dcatid=0&eetype=article&render=y&ac=-2&ck=&ch=ne

[Clintonista2]

1. I think I know who the mother voted for in 2000 and 2004...

[sandnsea]

2. Wow. just wow

I can't even imagine what this jury was thinking.

[jgraz]

4. It's Florida. Dumbest fucking state in the country.

[depakid]

8. I've long since stopped being surprised by that state

More bizarre stories from there than Texas and Ohio combined. And that's saying something.

[axollot]

22. Thats the truth and sadly that is where I ended up when I came here from OZ! I want to go..

home but I have lost me ruby slippers HELP?
Cheers
Sandy

[jgraz]

3. Jesus, if anyone else held down that girl and pierced her genitals they'd be in prison for life

Why the hell is it somehow OK if the assault comes from a relative?

[jmowreader]

12. The woman who manipulated the needle received a year in prison

[LisaL]

19. It got infected, so maybe the sentence was due to the infection.

[jmowreader]

25. She would have gone up, infection or not

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/aug/22/existence_report_surfaces_trial_mother_who_reporte/

She was charged with one "lesser count" of child abuse, and one count of operating an unlicensed piercing establishment.

[varkam]

5. While I assume that the jury had some reason to arrive at the verdict that they did...

I'm having a hard time seeing what it was.

[jgraz]

6. Make sure to read the entire article

You don't want to miss the part where the mother's boyfriend was allegedly having sex with the girl.

What the fuck is wrong with some people??? :nuke:

[Hekate]

7. Stunned. Just stunned. What? How? WTF? What IS this place called Florida?

Carl Hiassen seems to like it, even while lampooning the hell out of it. The kind of news stories we've been getting lately make me think he draws on fact....

Hekate

[qdemn7]

9. UN-fucking-believable!!!

Prosecutors said the mother called on a friend to shave the girl's head and do the piercing after realizing that she had been having sex, including with the mother's boyfriend.

[Elspeth]

11. Then it was punitive

And was the sexual activity voluntary if legally non-consensual?

[Ilsa]

16. How about statutory rape? She was only 13. nt

[Elspeth]

24. She punished her daughter for being raped by the boyfriend.

Charming.

[Lucinda]

10. I just cant wrap my brain around this one.

Unfreakinbelievable.

[jmowreader]

13. Explain to me how this works

If you go to the body piercing websites, you'll see there are two kinds of genital piercings: decorative and functional.

A decorative piercing is what it sounds like--it doesn't affect the sexual response, it's just there for looks--kind of a below-the-belt ear piercing.

Functional piercings are there to ENHANCE sex.

The most popular genital mod for people who want to make sex uncomfortable is clitoridectomy (aka "female circumcision") but that didn't happen here.

If I didn't know better, I'd put this woman down as a Bush voter--to discourage her daughter from having sex, she forced her to undergo a procedure normally intended to make sex more fun. That makes sense.

[kimmylavin]

14. Sorry, that's child abuse.

Not only the piercing, but the whole boyfriend thing???

If you find out your boyfriend is having sex with your 13-year-old daughter, you DON'T act like a jealous "other woman". You get your daughter the hell away from that man!

[Clark2008]

17. And have the police arrest the "boyfriend" for rape.

13-year-olds cannot legally consent.

Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

[Ilsa]

15. I wonder if the girl is begging to be placed CPS. Mommy's

boyfriend likes to screw her, mommy like to hurt her. Gaaz, thirteen.

[Berry Cool]

18. I am trying to come up with some way any of this could possibly make sense

Sorry, I'm coming up dry.

[AngryAmish]

20. Florida, again

Can't we make the secede?

[QC]

27. Will the carpetbagges have to go back home if we secede?

If so, then it's definitely worth considering.

[Blue Diadem]

21. WHAT? She was aquitted?

:banghead:

I can't begin to understand what the jury was thinking. I just hope that girl is away from the woman.

[DBoon]

28. I am afraid for the teenage duaghters of those jurors

imagine thinking that sort of thing is acceptable.

How do they treat their OWN children?

[angstlessk]

23. So genital mutilation can now become and American tradition too?

:banghead:

[Warren DeMontague]

26. Is this what they're doing at those "purity balls", now? Why am I not surprised.

I was wondering how long it would take for the Christian right to break out the chastity belts.