There are many reasons why kids should not have kids. This is just one of them. A teen-aged mother and father were charged with abuse after pictures surfaced of their 22 month-old son duct taped to a wall. Not only did they commit this illegal and stupid act, they took pics to share with friends. Jayla Hamm, 18, and her boyfriend Corde Honea, 19, were arrested back in January of this year when one friend gave the pictures of the duct taped toddler to authorities.
ABC News reports that Hamm was sentenced for abuse last month, to a resounding 10 days in jail and two years of probation. Corde Honea, the unfortunate boy's daddy, was sentenced to three to five years for child abuse. Honea also got another 12 to 24 months on felony possession of stolen firearms.
It should be noted here that the idea of child abuse usually brings to mind visions of physical injury. However, child abuse laws include any type of cruelty, including mental abuse in their descriptions.
"This happened on New Year's Eve. They were getting high on pot and thought this was a fun thing to do," Randall Ritnour, the Gage county attorney told ABC. "They thought it was a joke." Well, that explains it.
However, this is not the end of this unsettling case. According to an October 5 report by ABC, the toddler has been reunited with his mother. A word, it should be noted, that can only be used here in the most technical sense. However, although Hamm and her son have been reunited, the state of Nebraska has maintained a modicum of sanity in that it continues to make regular visits to supervise mommy dearest and is also reviewing a separate case to see if Hamm should continue to have custody.
"It's a matter of common sense that a parent would protect her child from humiliation and abuse," Gage County District Court Judge Paul Korslund said at the sentencing. "And why that occurred is something we're all asking ourselves." Us too.
Related Resources:
- Toddler duct-taped to wall reunited with Nebraska mom, Jayla Hamm, who taped him for fun (New York Daily News)
- Child Abuse Cases (FindLaw)
- Child Abuse Laws State-by-State (FindLaw)
- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month (FindLaw's Common Law)
- Criminal Law FAQs (provided by Mark M. Cheser)
- Classifications of Crimes (provided by Edward F. Gonciarz Attorney & Counselor at Law)
