Handling of 'abduction' case involving teen has been absurd (outrageous police behavior)

Orlando Sentinel ^ | 6/16/10

[LifePath]

Something similar happened to me in Germany a few years back. It helps to know that I am a man from the Dallas area.

I was standing in a line to board a tour boat at Konigsee, a beautiful lake in Bavaria. The dock was six feet or so wide.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a toddler running at full speed down the dock, toward shore. He is weaving very close to the cold, clear water. Nobody seems to have noticed him except me.

Without thinking I reached down with one arm and scooped him up. It took about two seconds for the whole thing to happen.

So now I have a small boy sitting on my hip, and it begins to dawn on me. I am in a foreign country, I don’t speak the language, and now I have just snatched someone’s kid. I am thinking to myself “Hey, you’re going to jail.”

The kid looked at me for a couple of seconds wide-eyed, then he smiled and said “Howdy!” He speaks Texan!

Mom showed up right then, apologizing profusely for letting her son get away from her. Turned out his parents were from Ft. Worth, Dad was a civilian contractor at Ramstein. Talk about relief, man.

[earlJam]

Yeah. He planned to abduct the girl....

Only he forgot he wasn’t old enough to drive the get away car. And he returns to shop for shoes with his mother after he gets caught (sure sign of a criminal). The story says that he was walking back into the store with the girl when he discovered that the other ladies were not the mother.

And by the way, did you see the video of the two leaving the store? He did not have the girl “imprisoned.” They were walking side by side not even holding hands.

doh!

[the_devils_advocate_666]

A number of years back there was a case in England just like yours and it did not have a happy ending:

During the three-day hearing at Stratford-upon-Avon Town Hall, the court heard how a bricklayer had passed a toddler, believed to be Abigail, walking alone near the nursery.

But he did not stop to help in case he was suspected of abducting her.

The two-year-old drowned in a pond shortly after. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/4837614.stm

[tje]

Over on reddit, someone is posting some supposed inside information.. (http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/cflhz/remember_the_14yearold_kid_in_orlando_arrested/)

Basically saying that store video tape shows a different story than what the 14yo and mother said..

[TankerKC]

Basically saying that store video tape shows a different story than what the 14yo and mother said..

It is written by someone who hasn't viewed the tape and got several facts wrong.

[earlJam]

Here is a good reply to your post:

**************

I guessed there was more to the story but after seeing the video and reading what you and our dad say I’m siding with the 14 year old.

The thing that strikes me the most is in the video he exits the store then goes back in. He’s obviously looking for someone and not trying to take the girl to a secluded location.

Other than that the stuff from your dad just doesn’t add up to any guilt on the kids part, no offense. Here’s several specific problems with the evidence police used to decide to charge him.

###### He consistently plays with his phone while not being directly questioned.######

My 14 year old nephew does this while cutting the grass even. My teenage daughters are the same way. Teen use their cell phones constantly nowadays, it means nothing.

######Under VSA (voice stress analysis, I believe? I didn’t ask my dad what that stood for), he shows signs of deception frequently. Of course, that’s not admissible in court, and doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s still another piece of evidence. ######

It means nothing or its evidence. It cannot be both. It really means nothing. Those things aren’t any better than chance when it comes to accuracy.

###### Edwin’s mother lied to the police when she stated that her son told her he was looking for the girl’s mother, as proven by the security footage. ######

The footage I saw showed a kid who was looking for someone. He left then came back in when he didn’t find the mother.

###### the Sheriff’s Office, including a number of officers and a sex crimes specialist, had become certain that Edwin was guilty of, at the very least, taking the little girl outside of the store without trying to let anyone know where he was taking her. ######

So? Why would he tell someone if he was looking for her mother? I wouldn’t. And taking her outside to see if one of the women who left isn’t a crime.
###### Mike Thomas, who wrote the article, refused to talk to the superior officer of the officer who made the arrest. He also refused to talk to the sex crimes specialist. Furthermore, he chose to sensationalize the story by purposefully stating incorrect facts. ######

Has nothing to do with the kid so why include it here?

###### the mother is hysterical and insists on pressing charges. Two days later, the mother of the little girl decided that she didn’t want to press charges. ######

She had an emotional knee jerk response to losing her daughter and seeing her with a stranger and the police got caught up in it. When the emotions subsided her response was more rational, and correct.

###### And, a little teaser... my dad told me a few other things that make me personally convinced that Edwin has some real issues and, at the very least, needs serious counseling. I can’t state what these facts are, but I hope they come out in the media eventually. ######

A 14 year old with issues. Show me one without. Unless he’s torturing cats it probably amounts to nothing more than teen angst. And teasers mean nothing. Give facts not innuendo.

Sorry for the rant but there really isn’t anything at all here that points to his guilt. Everything given is well in keeping with normal teen behavior or the actions of someone helping a child find their mother. The video is even a point in his favor.

[yarddog]

I had the exact same thing happen to me even down to realizing half way to the counter that I had made a mistake. Like your experience, mine turned out fine. Part of the reason, I took her hand so readily was I had a daughter the same age.

[SuziQ]

They should charge the mother with child neglect.

For what reason? There have been many a time that a child has wandered away from a parent in a store, or when a parent has walked away, incorrectly assuming the child would follow, and they've lost sight of one another. It's a scary time, take it from one who knows!

The mother of the little girl acted properly, in that she didn't press charges against the young man, once the facts were all known. It's the Sheriff's Dept. that took that silly step.

[chris_bdba]

I guess we all should just ignore lost children now and just allow them to end up where ever when their parents are too busy to know where they are?

[allmendream]

Yes, you are correct. My point was that if ANYBODY was legally at fault, it was the mother who lost her child, not the young man who wandered around the vicinity asking people (reportedly) if this were their child.

[altura]

I disagree. They shouldn’t charge anyone. The mother way over-reacted but if losing a child is a criminal offense, I’d still have years to serve on my sentence.

[kaylar]

There was a case posted to FR some years ago, about a woman who led a 'free range toddler' back to his dad. The toddler had been near a stream and this worried her. Later, the boy wandered off again, and this time he drowned. The woman, Susan Newkirk, could not swim. The prosecuting attorney decided to bring charges against Ms Newkirk-not the boy's dad-on the grounds that by bringing the boy back once, she had placed herself in a caretaker position vis a vis the boy, and hence the boy's drowning was her fault and not that of his parent. She got 18 months in prison .

I found both FR's and DU's threads on this case; could make an interesting comparison:

Non-Swimmer Jailed for Not Rescuing Toddler in Rain-Swollen Creek

Experts disagree with jury verdict against woman in boy's drowning

[TalBlack]

“I openly admit to having continued PAST an injured, crying little girl, OUT OF MY OWN FEAR.”

Handling this is simplicity itself: When I see a kid who is lost I watch for a few seconds waiting for someone else to notice. At least twice no one did so I just boomed out “HEY where do YOU belong!? On both occasions three woman zoomed to the kid from three different directions.