Mom Acquitted In Body Piercing Abuse Case

(CBS/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.

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 Thursday that the mother's actions did not 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.

"She was trying to protect me, but it hurt me," the girl testified earlier this week. "It not only hurt me physically, but it hurt me mentally. ... That's emotionally scarring. That's physical abuse."

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.

Defense attorneys told jurors that the mother had trouble with her rebellious daughter and that the girl agreed to the piercing to help rebuild her mother's trust.

Defense attorney Donald Day told jurors that the mother had trouble with her rebellious daughter and that the girl agreed to the piercing to help rebuild her mother's trust.

"It wasn't torture or extreme violence," Day said. "It was, in the young girl's words, to try to save her. ... That decision was a last-ditch effort. In my client's mind, she had no other options."

Child welfare officials were called after the girl became infected from the piercing.

"She made poor parental decisions, but nothing was done with malice," a juror said, according to the Naples Daily News. "She tried to get help and then called police, but no one helped and she wound up getting herself in trouble."

Tammy Meredith, 43, who did the piercing in her home, was sentenced to a year in jail for her role. An arrest warrant has been issued for the mother's boyfriend on allegations he had sex with the girl.

[michellem99-2009]

Yer don''t pierce there..Yer don''t...My sister had her ears done and they got infected...I am 53 and I don''t allow it on my person. Crazy fools. Erasmus6..It is barbaric..

[closethippy1]

If, as some argue, the girl is too young and stupid to have s.ex then it follows that she is also stupid enough to be taken advantage of by an adult who disapproves of her behavior.
So if the piercing had happened, say, in a religious commune where the girl was made to feel guilty for her actions and then pierced to make sure she doesn''''t have s.ex that would surely be a case of child abuse.
To go to the extreme this mother did is irrational and should not be allowed in the USA.
We''''re not freaking Saudi Arabia, and I hope we''''re not turning into a nationwide commune.
I don''t understand how you can violate someone''s body and then go free.

[closethippy1]

If, as some argue, the girl is too young and stupid to have *** then it follows that she is also stupid enough to be taken advantage of an adult who disapproves of her behavior.
So if the piercing had happened, say, in a religious commune where the girl was made to feel guilty for her actions and then pierced to make sure she doesn''t have *** that would surely be a case of child abuse.
To go to the extreme this mother did is irrational and should not be allowed in the USA.
We''re not freaking Saudi Arabia, and I hope we''re not turning into a nationwide commune.

[michellem99-2009]

Dumb teenage male who go in heat at the sight a female...Keep it yer pants and don''t force it on a female..Keep the boy home as he is like a tomcat who is on the prawl for a tabbycat..

[keithle1]

Recipe for disaster:

Stupid, silly female teenager brain coupled with a
well-developed, mature-for-her-age body.

LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS!!!!

[michellem99-2009]

That is the mother''s duty..I was a teen once..I was abused in foster homes..I was not allowed to dress as my peers did. No dates..No friends overs.. I could not go over to their homes..I had no need to break the rules..This was in the 70s..I was not allowed to watch TV/listen to music..Foster mother knew every move I made,what I owned...

[cmp271]

You can''t be with a child 24 hours a day and make sure they are not having ***. The Mother made the wrong decision. The helper should not have to serve any time either. This child needs to be put in an institution for wild girls. (Do they still exist?).

Who is this 13 year old having *** with?

It was having it with the Mothers man that caused this. Whoa, I can feel the anger over it, I hope she kicked him out!!

[keithle1]

Whatever it takes to get these teen tramps to not jump into bed with every thug that tells them they
have "pretty eyes."

[michellem99-2009]

That is child abuse..Yes sah..The mother abused that teen..Yer better believe..I can''t believe she walked. They oaught to do the same to that mother''s area.. What that woman think the period is for in future children. She had no business bring a predator that preyed on the teen..Yer right there the mothers/caretakers should go to jail but then the child ends in in foster home there are good/bad ones..

[Krazcarl]

erarsmus6....Where I come from it is a crime to hire a someone to commit a crime the weird angle is the piercer has a definite appeal and may get off. At the least the woman needs psychiatric help and deeds to be nowhere near that girl with that mind-set.