Where were the parents?

[needinit]

Preteen staggering drunk on night of rape
Tippett accused of kidnapping and sex assault of girl, 12

August 18, 2009
The Canadian Press
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. (Aug 18, 2009)

A 12-year-old girl was severely intoxicated the night she was allegedly abducted, driven to a neighbouring community and sexually assaulted, her friend testified yesterday.

"She was staggering and it was really hard to pick her up because it was all dead weight," the friend, who is now 16 and cannot be named, told the court.

The victim fell "plenty of times" while trying to walk back to another friend's house in August 2008, she said, adding her words were slurred and she wasn't coherent.

The witness, the alleged victim and another girl, now 17, drank a 26-ounce bottle of rum the night of the alleged attack, court heard.

A red van pulled up as they were struggling to help the victim walk, she testified, and a man she alleges was Stanley Tippett asked if they were OK.

This will obviously play out in court and I feel sorry for the girl in question (and the accused, until proven guilty, if it is a case of being falsely accused), however, my concerns are also around the parents of these children - what actions are being taken against them? Aren't they also responsible for their (then) 12 year old children?

There is no way I would let my children be in that situation in the first place.

Does anyone know if there was legal actions against the parents (at the time of the incident)?

 

[tboy]

I don't have any info on this specific case but blame the parents? It isn't their fault, it's the school, it's the cops, it's the liquor store, it's everyone's fault but the parents....

I wonder why the friend knows what happened........sounds kind of odd to me.

 

[moresex4me]

Horrible shit. Can't blame the parents unless there is a pattern of neglect. I had great parents, but I still got drunk as a teen. Luckily bad shit did not happen to me or my friends.

Know where your kids are. Know the friends and more importantly the friends' parents. See where the friends live. If any of it is hinky, then they play or hang at your house. Do all that, and they will still get away and experiment, but you've done your best without making them recluses.

 

[needinit]

I ask this question based on the fact these kids were drinking - were they at someone's house? who was looking after them? why were they wandering around in the middle of the night?

Surely parents are responsible for knowing what their kids are up to?

 

[KatiePie]

Kids lie and booze is easily attainable.

 

[Cycleguy007]

Must be orphans...

Seriously folks... 12 yr old kids doing this sorta thing clearly shows a lack of decent & responsible parenting.

 

[smylee52]

I ask this question based on the fact these kids were drinking - were they at someone's house? who was looking after them? why were they wandering around in the middle of the night?

Surely parents are responsible for knowing what their kids are up to?

.


From someone who has little knowledge of what kids can get up to regardless of the best efforts of good parents .

Sounds like you don't have teens so let me give you a little advice if that day comes .

Q. How can you tell a teenager is lying ?

A. Their lips are moving .


Drop your guard once and they get into trouble and Mr. Hindsighter will be there to throw the stones . Why not wait to see how the story unravels before blaming.

 

[needinit]

I do in fact have a teenager in the house and have spent considerable time being his parent. He is able to make choices and has in fact distanced himself from those that he felt 'may lead him astray' and has told me that when we are speaking.

Open communication and mutual respect is key and he knows I will be there when needed (without being in his face). I have also given him responsibility as he has grown, rtaher than also treating him like a child to the point where he just wants to rebel!

I also recognize having a male teenager is different to a female as well.

The girl in question was 12 not a teen and I merely wanted to know if there had been ramifications for the parents/care-givers as it seemed out of control (and I would guess was not the first time these kids were in such situations).

 

[Moraff]

I wonder why the friend knows what happened........sounds kind of odd to me.

From what I read in today's Spec... the kids got drunk at a friend's house, were on their way somewhere else (home) when the victim pretty much passed out. While they were trying to deal with her the accused apparently drove up and stopped to help.

One girl went to find help, couldn't find any and came back to find everyone gone.

Other friends who had stayed said the accused got them to put the victim in his van, then they took off before help could arrive as they were afraid of their parents finding out they were drunk.


No mention of legal actions against the parents but unless some parent knew what was going on it would be hard to lay any I would imagine.

 

[tboy]

From what I read in today's Spec... the kids got drunk at a friend's house, were on their way somewhere else (home) when the victim pretty much passed out. While they were trying to deal with her the accused apparently drove up and stopped to help.

One girl went to find help, couldn't find any and came back to find everyone gone.

Other friends who had stayed said the accused got them to put the victim in his van, then they took off before help could arrive as they were afraid of their parents finding out they were drunk.


No mention of legal actions against the parents but unless some parent knew what was going on it would be hard to lay any I would imagine.

Yeah, I could see that happening, but still, how does the "friend" know where they went and what happened if the vic was passed out?

If it did infact happen as said, that is sad. But the moral of the story is: don't get drunk at 12..........now, if they were at a friend's house, whoever fed her the alcohol is culpable.....

 

[Hurricane Hank]

When I was 15 or 16, my parents told me this: If you are going to try drinking before you're of age, do it here, at home, when we are around.

Lets face it. Most of us drank under age. Maybe not at 12 years old. Blaming the parents is too easy, unless they provided the booze.

 

[Mongrel4u]

Can't blame the parents unless there is a pattern of neglect.

You cant blame the parents???? people shes TWELVE!! If you don't know where your 12 year old is at night then something as seriously wrong....why would you wait for a pattern of neglect before trying to put the screws to a parent? by then its too late. Yeah at some point these kids have to know better and be able to make the right decisions. But I'm willing to go out on a limb here and bet that most think that 12 certainly isnt the age for this

I can understand this argument at 16/17 + because at some point you have to cut these kids a little slack and thats the age that usually happens at but not 12....

 

[Cycleguy007]

You cant blame the parents???? people shes TWELVE!! If you don't know where your 12 year old is at night then something as seriously wrong....

I can understand this argument at 16/17 + because at some point you have to cut these kids a little slack and thats the age that usually happens at but not 12....

I'm in total agreement with you here.

 

[doggee_01]

You cant blame the parents???? people shes TWELVE!! If you don't know where your 12 year old is at night then something as seriously wrong....

I can understand this argument at 16/17 + because at some point you have to cut these kids a little slack and thats the age that usually happens at but not 12....

exactally!

 

[Moraff]

Yeah, I could see that happening, but still, how does the "friend" know where they went and what happened if the vic was passed out?

If it did infact happen as said, that is sad. But the moral of the story is: don't get drunk at 12..........now, if they were at a friend's house, whoever fed her the alcohol is culpable.....

I haven't made a detailed study of the case, but from what I've read I think the friends are just testifying that the accused had the victim in his van... I'm guessing the sex assault charge comes from the victim's testimony and evidence.

 

[jiiimmm]

You cant blame the parents???? people shes TWELVE!! If you don't know where your 12 year old is at night then something as seriously wrong....why would you wait for a pattern of neglect before trying to put the screws to a parent? by then its too late. Yeah at some point these kids have to know better and be able to make the right decisions. But I'm willing to go out on a limb here and bet that most think that 12 certainly isnt the age for this

I can understand this argument at 16/17 + because at some point you have to cut these kids a little slack and thats the age that usually happens at but not 12....

Your bang on with this statement, no twelve year old should be out without a parent or guardian.

 

[coolcat]

12, away from home and drunk? Where are the parents? This girl is far to young in my opinion to be out at night, drinking, partying and getting drunk. It is to easy to blame others for anything and everything in today's society. Nobody seems to want to take responsibilty for their actions anymore. The parents definitely neglected this little girl and should be held responsible for what has happened in my opinion.

 

[Hurricane Hank]

Totally agree, when my kids were 12, I knew where they were 100% of the time!

That's what they wanted you to believe.

 

[Cycleguy007]

What happened to this 12 year old girl didn't happen to any of my kids (back then), because I made sure they didn't wander the streets drunk in the middle of the night.

It's called "parenting"...anyone remember that word?

YES! And Mrs. CG & I practice it all the time. We have 3 of them- oldest son just turned 16, 2nd is a daughter 14 and 3rd (also a daughter) will be 13 in a couple weeks...

We don't have these kinds of problems with any of our children. They are not without their challenges of course, but aside from having difficulty having them complete studies and clean their rooms etc, we have very few issues with them at all.

 

[tboy]

YES! And Mrs. CG & I practice it all the time. We have 3 of them- oldest son just turned 16, 2nd is a daughter 14 and 3rd (also a daughter) will be 13 in a couple weeks...

We don't have these kinds of problems with any of our children. They are not without their challenges of course, but aside from having difficulty having them complete studies and clean their rooms etc, we have very few issues with them at all.

Have you solved the "close the garage door" problem? lol