Posted on 05/11/2008 4:18:12 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s
A Fairfield man is in jail because his daughter hasn't gotten her General Equivalency Diploma (GED).
A judge ordered the father to stay on top of his daughter's education months ago and when that order wasn't followed, Brian Gegner was sentenced to 180-days in the Butler County jail.
The daughter, Brittany Gegner, says her father shouldn't be punished for her problems.
Especially, she says because she's now 18, an adult.
"It's ridiculously wrong," said Brittany Gegner.
"Of all the punishments they could have given him, to make him go to jail?," she asked. "I mean, probation – until I get my GED – would be reasonable, but to send him to jail? That's overboard."
Butler County Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus ordered Gegner to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by not following a court order which required Gegner to be sure his daughter got her GED.
This comes after ongoing problems of Brittany skipping classes at Fairfield High School and then, Butler Tech.
While Brian Gegner had custody of her, Brittany says it was while she lived with her mother that she was truant.
"I'm about to be 19 and my Dad's being punished for something I did when I was 16," she said.
"It's like I should, if anybody should be punished for this," said Brittany. "I would way rather me go to jail than my Dad."
"They probably should have punished me if they were going to punish anybody," said Brittany's mother Shana Roach. "Because she did live with me at the time, but because he had the custody, that's why he's being punished."
"But I don't understand the punishment all together because she's going to school, she's been going for four months," said Roach. "The only thing that's holding her back is she can't pass her math test."
Brittany has a daughter who's about 18-months-old.
She says she's determined to pass the GED for her daughter – and her father.
The judge says if she passes the test, her father could get out of jail before his six-months sentence is up.
Brittany's step-mother worries the time in jail will ruin their family.
She says he could lose the job he's worked for 15-years.
"I never dreamed they would put him in jail for this – for six months – it's crazy," said Stephanie Gegner, Brittany's step-mother.
"He has no control over what his adult daughter does," she said. "He just doesn't."
Court administrators say that even though Brittany is an adult now, the case remains active in their court because she was a juvenile when the problems started.
They say this type of punishment is rare and reserved for extreme cases when court orders aren't met.
Why don’t they jail all the other parents whose children don’t finish high school?
Heck, in Chicago, that’s about 60% of all parents.
There are many things you won't get without a GED....
. . . and what is the State? That sounds like U.S. broadcast call letters so I suppose it is in the U.S.
Insanity rules. Whatever problems this family had or has I don’t see how this could possibly help the situation.
Put the judge in jail.
A bit of judicial overreaching? Uh...yup, IMO. This is pathetic. This man has a job of 15 years, had custody of the child after a split in the marriage, and is biting the big one for actions of the 16yo kid and her mother, some three years back?
Deadbeat dads don’t get 6 months around here...must be saving jail space for the ones trying to the do the right thing.
I haven’t decided if I agree with this or not...but hey...it’s working. She’s serious about getting her GED now.
I think it is Ohio, but I couldn’t tell for sure. These idiot news sources assume that somehow we will know the state by the name of the city
/johnny
The news came out of Cincinnatti.
There must be no real criminals in Fairfield.
This is outrageous.
I’d like to order the judge’s wife to ensure that the judge gets his medical degree in two years, or she goes to jail.
Fairfield is a suberb of Cincinnati, OH.
Why don’t they jail the TEACHERS when kids don’t pass?
Nanny ping
How many of those parents would be getting their kids to school if they knew they could go to jail?
I’m not sure we have the whole story here. Has this family been in trouble with this girl before? Was the dad warned? Are they supporting the child or is the state?
"60sChild" was also too buzzed-out to notice this little item following the article: Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Yours in the service of maintaining FR...
She says he could lose the job he's worked for 15-years.
Basically this judge has sentenced this man and his family to poverty.
If he has a mortgage he will likely lose his house as well as his job.
Stupid moonbat judge - any parent can tell you that kids really do whatever the hell they feel like way before the age of 10. This ruling will be overturned on appeal, but it still seems so.........big government.
Took me 23 seconds to discern that. (Of course, I knew “Cincy” was Cincinnati so I terminated the search there.)
Sounds fair.
Outrageous. It’s like what a communist regime would do.
“So a judge thinks that somehow a man can force a 16 YO to study and pass a test. “
I wonder what would happen to the Judge, if this guy beat the cr@p out of his daughter ?
Sounds reasonable. /sarc-not
“Court administrators say that even though Brittany is an adult now, the case remains active in their court because she was a juvenile when the problems started.”
So why did they not put him in jail when she dropped out of school as a juvenile??????
I wonder what would happen if parents were told that they will support minor grandchildren with no state help or after 2 chances be put in jail for neglecting to supervise their kids. I'm a grown up project kid but I can hear it from my momma now.." You aren't going nowhere with him alone. I ain't raising your kids...or..you get yourself in the car. I'm taking you to that school myself. I ain't going to jail caz you want to skip school". JAT
You just can’t order someone to compel the behavior of another, especially when it’s a performance measure, at the risk of being jailed.
A parent can be held civilly liable for the actions of a minor in their custody, but that involves monetary damages. If your kid breaks out the windows of every car on the block, you’re in trouble. If you told him to do it, then you can go to jail.
But this is far different. It’s not legally distinguishable from an order by the court that you make sure your kid qualifies for the Indy 500 or you go to jail.
It’s not something within your control.
You’re preaching to the choir my friend.
Kudos to your mom CD. Fortunately for her, you respected her wishes and demands.
Not all parents are so blessed.
The daughter’s the problem. If she doesn’t pass, she gets no GED - it’s that simple. Why it’s somehow this guy’s fault is beyond me.
This case hardly seems extreme. A juvie judge sentences the non-custodial parent (in real life, not on paper)? Sucks to be a dad all the way around. I know judges get broad discretion when it comes to contempt charges but this one seems to scream for judicial review.
... or we only have a fraction of the real story.
This is really dumb.
There are dropouts all over the place, nobody should be in jail.
Please don’t think I was trying to correct you. You were the latest reply on the thread when I started to compose mine, so I used it as a handy Reply To.
Search this juvie judge:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22David+Niehaus%22+butler&hl=en&start=20&sa=N
Colorful, isn’t he?
Its in ohio about 30 miles from me !
No, not at all.
Peace
How about putting the Kids in jail - they're the ones not grasping the material. I don't know why this society seems so intent to blame everybody but the one at fault.
She needed my dad around. I kind of came and went as I pleased. Some days were just too nice to go to school. It was easier just to let me roam. I could usually get around her.
With a little incentive though she could have made my social life very uncomfortable:')
Good God.
2 Boys.... 15 Years old rape a third on a bus and GET A TREATMENT PROGRAM
1 Dad... has an 19 year old daughter fail a GED and he gets 6 months.
Bill O’Reilly could do a week in Cincinatti on this POS.
Like all nanny state laws this was just an excuse and it quickly became a case of "you will send your kids to school even if they don't want to go or else". It is even worse today.
If anyone thinks this judge gave a just sentence, or even if you think he has a constitutional(as opposed to a right under the law, which is different and wrong)right to oder a parent to force a child against their will to attend school or get a GED or diploma, then they had better turn in their conservative credentials for a liberal ID card because liberals they are, or actually socialist, communist, fascist or any other word you can think of that stands for out of control government without regard for the rights of citizens.
I suspect there is more to this story. Not sure if I agree with what the judge did, but it’s impossible to say without knowing all the details.
susie
The initial issue didn’t seem to be not getting a degree or GED, but truancy. I know that in TX parents can go to jail for this, and I suspect that what happened is the judge told the father that if the girl got her GED he would drop it. The girl didn’t, and so now the man is going to serve the time.
At least that’s my best guess.
susie
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