Althouse: "Now Henderson, a single mom in Blairsville, Georgia, is facing criminal reckless conduct charges for letting her 14-year-old babysit."

February 9, 2022

"Now Henderson, a single mom in Blairsville, Georgia, is facing criminal reckless conduct charges for letting her 14-year-old babysit."

"The charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison and fine of $1,000. The arresting officer, Deputy Sheriff Marc Pilote, wrote in his report that anything terrible could have happened to Thaddeus, including being kidnapped, run over, or 'bitten by a venomous snake.' (When Henderson protested that the kid was only gone a few minutes, Pilote responded that a few minutes was all the time a venomous snake needed.)... When I spoke with the district attorney, Jeff Langley, he said he felt the cops acted prudently... Langley said he believed the boy was 'wandering naked in a thunderstorm.' In reality, while the boy was wearing only a shirt, there was no storm. Langley added the officers informed him that 14-year-old Linley had 'some measure of learning disability'... Henderson told me that her daughter was previously diagnosed with ADHD. She has a GPA of 4.45, is vice president of the 4-H Club, broke school records in varsity track, completed the Red Cross Childcare program, and is certified in CPR."

From "Mom Handcuffed, Jailed for Letting 14-Year-Old Babysit Kids During COVID-19/'I almost don't have words for how low it made me feel,' says Melissa Henderson" (Reason).

66 comments:

Butkus51 said...: Babysitters? Give the kids crack pipes instead. Thats the "responsible" thing to do.; 2/9/22, 12:33 PM
Readering said...: When I was 14, my 13 year old sister and I were made godparents to our new sibling. (Running short of options with #6.) I guess our parents should have been picked up at the church.; 2/9/22, 12:37 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Sounds like more of the same. hack-press makes up bullshit to sell... fear and loathing.; 2/9/22, 12:38 PM
daskol said...: Those cops and attorneys are so left wing.; 2/9/22, 12:43 PM
Duke Dan said...: This is why tar and feathers were invented; 2/9/22, 12:47 PM
gilbar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/9/22, 12:49 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: 14 year olds should be at home raising their own kids, not babysitting somebody else's.; 2/9/22, 12:56 PM
gilbar said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/9/22, 1:00 PM
M said...: I babysat at 14 but not 4 kids at once and not when I was supposed to be doing other things that take concentration like an online class. Also the mom had been under child welfare supervision before for letting the kid wander off which as someone who worked in social services isn’t a normal response just for a kid getting out of the house ONCE. So I think something else is going on here. Anyway why the hell didn’t she install child proof locks on the doors after the first time? And where is the dad? Five kids, no dad?; 2/9/22, 1:00 PM
farmgirl said...: Very beautiful family.
So, the snakes were there, after all. 2legged.
And they bite.; 2/9/22, 1:00 PM
tim maguire said...: The things government agents will say and do astonish me. That they do it self-righteously...I don't know how they can have any respect for themselves.

I was babysitting when I was 13. Most people did/do. It's normal. These cops and prosecutors did it or have close family members who did it. Their neighbors' kids do it. Their friends' kids do it. The parks department in my city has babysitting classes for 12 year olds.

They need to be held accountable. Sadly, they probably won't be.; 2/9/22, 1:07 PM
Michael K said...: 14 year old kids can change gender or get an abortion but not babysit. I think I've got it.; 2/9/22, 1:08 PM
wendybar said...: Where the hell are we?? When I was growing up, I babysat for most of my neighbors kids since I was 12. I worked at a farm in town at 13 picking blueberries, strawberries ect..., picking and sewing tobacco from 14 and then getting a job at Ramada Inn as a maid at 16!! My mother had 4 kids to raise and 3 jobs. We all worked to make our own money. I grew up in the 70's so not that long ago. It's like we live in another world now. Not everybody relies on the Government for handouts.; 2/9/22, 1:13 PM
MadisonMan said...: I'm curious why the neighbor called the police vs. walking the kid back home (which is what any good neighbor would do). That's part of the story that needs telling.
It's ridiculous that Henderson was charged. Some good old boys in the sheriff department in far northern Georgia I'm guessing.; 2/9/22, 1:16 PM
Big Mike said...: When I was 14 my parents had me babysit my younger sisters. Strangely enough, all of us survived and none of us were bitten by venomous snakes (or anything larger than a mosquito). The fact that Melissa Henderson is a single mother jumped out at me; it used to be thought that single mothers were inherently poor parents. Did that figure into the arrest?

I am opposed to authorities egregiously inserting themselves into a family’s business except in the most extreme cases, as this clearly was not. It seems to me that Deputy Sheriff Marc Pilote needs to receive a strongly-worded letter of reprimand in his personnel file, and a couple weeks unpaid leave. That DA Jeff Langley supports Deputy Sheriff Marc Pilote tells me that he should be terminated.; 2/9/22, 1:24 PM
traditionalguy said...: Child protective services have long since gotten away with become a kidnap
ring seeking fodder for their bureaucracy’s true business. The business is finding candidates for selling the young ones for adoptions after an appointed Juvenile Court Judge terminates the mother’s
parental rights and selects the foster parent ( who will later adopt the child). This is all done for
money donated to politicians.

The weak part is the required appointing of an attorney for the mother in the Termination case. That is usually a young lawyer just out of Law School who doesn’t want to upset the powers that be by winning the case he is supposed to lose. But on occasion they system has to fight and fight the young trial attorney until they give up on that one. And he pays a price for it, but it was worth it.; 2/9/22, 1:25 PM
Joe Smith said...: We live in the cocoon era where nobody can ever get hurt in any way.

Everyone was a babysitter at 14 back in the olde tymes.; 2/9/22, 1:28 PM
Owen said...: Well, this is what you'd expect the cops to do when they've been chased off the actual crime beat. If you were the cop, wouldn't you prefer to stay away from high-crime neighborhoods where you might get shot and certainly won't be thanked for your efforts? Wouldn't you prefer to work the Criminal Sibling Babysitter problem?; 2/9/22, 1:30 PM
Leland said...: Come see the patriarchy inherent in the system!; 2/9/22, 1:30 PM
Amy said...: I babysat all the time at 14 (and younger). It was completely normal.

When I was in 8th or 9th grade my parents went to Jamaica (or some other island) for 4 days and left me in charge of my 11 year old brother. Another family in our apt building fed us breakfast and dinner, but otherwise I was in charge. My mom is now 89 - do you think they will lock her up?; 2/9/22, 1:39 PM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: I don’t think it should be called babysitting if it’s 8 hours a day 5 days a week, but the Georgia guidelines do allow teenagers to babysit for up to 12 hours (timeframe not specified, but presumably per day). There may be a question of fact as to whether the 14 year old was “performing the role of babysitter.”

But the article indicates that her ex-husband bailed her out. Assuming he’s the father (I admit that’s not necessarily a fair assumption), why wasn’t he arrested too?; 2/9/22, 1:46 PM
Krumhorn said...: The nanny state on full display. Of course, in today's world, police or children's services agencies that fail to act when they have been notified of potential issues are easy lawsuit targets in addition to bad press.

I would want to know why the mother of the friend across the street thought it necessary to call the police.

- Krumhorn
(my preferred adjectives: brilliant/awesome); 2/9/22, 1:57 PM
rhhardin said...: Danger to children is a ratings winner, as of the late 60s or early 70s, and so also a political winner.; 2/9/22, 2:02 PM
wayworn wanderer said...: And law enforcement types wonder why we hate and fear them?; 2/9/22, 2:12 PM
gahrie said...: We were called latch key kids in my day. We went to school, parents went to work. We got home before our parents, took care of ourselves and siblings; and parents came home several hours later.

Apparently we were being abused and didn't know it.; 2/9/22, 2:13 PM
Howard said...: Heartwarming story from the heart of rural red State America where you can escape from looney libtard government overreach.; 2/9/22, 2:13 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Sheriff is Neanderfuck.; 2/9/22, 2:17 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Another ahole sheriff...
https://defiantamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ottawa-canada.mp4
How it's done.; 2/9/22, 2:27 PM
Richard said...: Recall seeing an old militia law. When the call went out, every man was supposed to show up with three days' food, a blanket, and his rifle. "man' was ages 14-43. Other militia laws started a couple of years older.; 2/9/22, 3:02 PM
Greg The Class Traitor said...: 20 years ago, which is the last time I checked, you could leave kids home along at 12+, and 12+ could babysit.

Every single person involved in the arrest should be fired. The same for anyone involved with the prosecution; 2/9/22, 3:06 PM
Temujin said...: What Joe Smith said at 1:28pm.

To which I reply, Exactly!; 2/9/22, 3:16 PM
JAORE said...: Five kids, no dad?

Likely multiple sperm donors.; 2/9/22, 3:27 PM
Richard Dillman said...: The mother’s treatment was both absurd and obscene. Whatever happened to free range kids, a group that I once belonged to. This is the local version of the nanny state in action. When I was 12, I bicycled all over my fairly large, seaside Connecticut town, to the beaches, to the
Little League fields, wherever I wanted to go. I explored the coastline, and learned a lot about nature with no adult supervision. I left the house
In the morning and did not come home until lunch or dinner. Neither my parents nor my relatives seemed to worry. When I turned 14,
I went to work in an Italian ice cream parlor and deli for 75 cents an hour and learned something about responsibility. Granted that there is probably more danger in some small towns today, but the neighborhood looks rather placid or even pastoral. The police are the real guilty party here. A free range childhood was great preparation for free range adulthood. Incidentally, I never encountered any snakes in all my childhood travels and adventures.; 2/9/22, 3:29 PM
gilbar said...: serious question
after the mom was "handcuffed and jailed"... Who took care of the kids then?

Remember the Horrors of the Trump (BAD!) admin? When they would detain undocumented democrats (or do we call them informal immigrants now?), and separate them from their children? Remember? Sure you do! It was, THE MOST HORRIBLE THING, IN THE WORLD!!!!

So, again.... after the mom was "handcuffed and jailed"... Who took care of the kids then?; 2/9/22, 3:32 PM
Mark said...: Just when you think that all this "defund the police" stuff is outrageous stupid nonsense, someone comes along doing some stupid thing that demonstrates that, yes, extensive police reform IS needed.

Especially in the area of child protective services, which is pervasive with tyrants and thugs.; 2/9/22, 3:32 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/9/22, 3:36 PM
Gravel said...: I spent a week at a lodge just outside of Blairsville last September. It's a small town, but to all appearances the economy is healthy. The roads are impeccably maintained, the businesses are clean and well staffed by friendly people. The local police don't harass visitors at all that I could see; bikers, campers, fishermen and hunters all seemed welcome. I agree with MadisonMan that there's likely a personal vendetta on the part of the neighbor, but of course that's just speculation. To Owen's point, there doesn't appear to be a crime problem for the cops to be chased off of; in fact, I'm very surprised that they have five cop cars as mentioned in the story. I was out on the road for hours every day I was there, and I don't recall seeing even one cop.; 2/9/22, 3:42 PM
rehajm said...: Before I judge it would be nice to know the politics of the local government and of the family being attacked by them....; 2/9/22, 3:59 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Authoritarianism is so much our default setting, the go to first and last, that we don’t need a charismatic leader to hoodwink people into submission. This is the pandemic that’s always ready to break out.

"The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." John Philpot Curran (I looked it up); 2/9/22, 4:00 PM
tommyesq said...: How long before GoFundMe keeps all of the money being donated and refuses to give any to her?; 2/9/22, 4:08 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: This looks like a case of nasty neighbor--the neigbhor had "turned the mother in" once before.; 2/9/22, 4:38 PM
Mrs Whatsit said...: My first babysitting job (not counting my own siblings) was at age 12, a mile or so from home. My mother was at home and ready for a phone call if I needed help. I didn't need to call, and after that I babysat regularly for that family and, later, for others. Now I was an oldest child of five, and used to taking care of little kids. But still, for heaven's sake, I understood what needed to be done and I was capable of doing it. Let's have some faith in our kids.; 2/9/22, 4:53 PM
JPS said...: I don't know if he's the father of all or any of these kids, but

"Her ex-husband bailed her out."

Which is decent of him, and suggests at least a minimally supportive relationship. I can't help wondering if he could be of more help on the child-watching side, but I say that without judgment. Maybe his job is no more forgiving than hers. Maybe that's just not how the courts left it.

Which leaves me feeling grateful for my neighbors, whose only concern would have been seeing my kids safely back home.; 2/9/22, 5:15 PM
Lurker21 said...: Five kids, no dad?

Likely multiple sperm donors.

Avoiding speculation before the facts come out is always a good idea.; 2/9/22, 5:16 PM
gilbar said...: okay, after looking at her pix; i think this mom needs to run for political office
She's a looker; 2/9/22, 5:18 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Oh, for fuck's sake- I babysat my two younger sisters when I was 12. I was a latchkey kid when I was 7. A different world, I suppose, and this one isn't getting better.; 2/9/22, 5:47 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: tommyesq, allow JP to straighten out the misconceptions one may have about GoFundMe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckgPc7bfXFM; 2/9/22, 5:54 PM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/9/22, 5:55 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: Ottawa cops vs 79 yr old. 4'10" great grandfather.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/02/ottawa-police-use-physical-force-to-arrest-great-grandfather-78-for-honking-in-support-on-freedom-convoy/
Georgia has no corner on the dangerously inbred cops market.; 2/9/22, 6:02 PM
Iman said...: “And they bite.”

Truth be told, farmgirl, those 2-legged snakes suck… weakly, as weaksucks are wont to do.; 2/9/22, 6:12 PM
Mason G said...: "A free range childhood was great preparation for free range adulthood."

These days, free range adulthoods are to be discouraged by order of Your Rulers.; 2/9/22, 6:52 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: What is this town where venomous snakes and creepers are lying everywhere in wait?; 2/9/22, 6:57 PM
Dude1394 said...: Some serious discussion with the NEIGHBOR who called the cops is in order. Some serious, serious, one-on-one discussions.; 2/9/22, 8:21 PM
wildswan said...: We had neighbors with a large family and with a mother who worked. They had a maid who came in and cleaned as well as babysat and was busy, so that the younger kids used to wander over at any time, during dinner, whatever, and sometimes not dressed. It was very annoying to my mother who had nine children already to feel that several more were intermittent responsibilities. But there was no question of the police. There were encounters and discussions and reforms and new hires. The police? not even thought of.; 2/9/22, 8:22 PM
Fernandinande said...: Everyone was a babysitter at 14 back in the olde tymes.

My BunHun's 7 year-old older sister used to babysit her and another sister all day long when they were 4 and 5.; 2/9/22, 9:51 PM
Fernandinande said...: Ottawa cops vs 79 yr old. 4'10" great grandfather.

Loveland CO cops vs 73 year old woman with dementia:

"2 ex-cops accused of breaking an elderly woman's arm [and dislocating her shoulder] during an arrest and later laughing about it are facing charges"

The arrest video (not linked in that article?) is really sickening, the woman was wandering in a field collecting wild-flowers, obviously rather "out of it", then about a minute later the cops are manhandling her on the back of their car and you can hear her arm or shoulder snap and they start laughing. Then they laugh again while watching the arrest video. One cop was female.; 2/9/22, 10:03 PM
Big Mike said...: Some serious discussion with the NEIGHBOR who called the cops is in order. Some serious, serious, one-on-one discussions.

With an aluminum baseball bat?; 2/9/22, 10:04 PM
James K said...: Whatever happened to free range kids, a group that I once belonged to.

If that's Lenore Skenazy's group, it's now called Let Grow. Jonathan Haidt has written a lot about this too. Kids are overprotected and not allowed to be adventurous and independent, and the result is the fragile snowflakes that need "safe spaces" and can't handle words and ideas that make them "uncomfortable."

My wife tells the story of her mother, who had been widowed at a young age, leaving her and her brother home alone at age roughly 9 and 12 when she went out on a date (circa 1969). She called to check on them and there was no answer, so she panicked and rushed home, only to find them both asleep on the sofa. But that's how it was then. Nowadays she would be arrested.; 2/9/22, 11:25 PM
Tina Trent said...: DA Langley is a hardcore conservative, and Deputy Pilote is unlikely to be a leftist. It's a good question why the father wasn't arrested too, but that challenges the dearly-held fantasies among many that the justice system routinely charges fathers with abandonment when they fail to care for the children they brought into their world -- and then force taxpayers to support their offspring instead.

It's likely there is a lot more to the story. Georgia prioritizes family reunification to a fault, most often being hands-off reports of child abuse or placing children back into dangerous homes despite continued drug abuse, sexual abuse of minors, neglect, and violence. In any case, DFACS, the child protection workers also vilified here, disagreed with law enforcement and closed this complaint.

This woman has five children under 15 and no father(s) around? She had previously been investigated and found negligent? Blairsville isn't just a mountain town: people there often live on or near very precarious terrain, and one photo of spring blooms in Reason Magazine doesn't change that. It also sure isn't liberal. If you are getting your information from Reason Magazine, don't expect it to be true. It has been brutally cold up here lately. It's doubtful the mother will face jail ttime. The police brought multiple cruisers to carry multiple children, not because they were conducting some SWAT exercise.; 2/10/22, 6:40 AM
JAORE said...: "Five kids, no dad?

Likely multiple sperm donors.

Avoiding speculation before the facts come out is always a good idea."

OK, I admit I did not use a /sarc tag. The family pic did not look to me like a multiple "Baby Daddy" situation. So I riffed on the oh-too-common one woman, no man in sight, multiple kids experience.

Lighten up Francis.; 2/10/22, 7:35 AM
Birches said...: (whispers) I let my ten year old babysit her two younger siblings.

The kid sounds like a runner. my boys are also runners. They feel perfectly comfortable in their neighborhood and feel like they are entitled to come and go as they please.

The mom could be a little neglectful, it's possible, but I suspect most neighbors would deal with it on their own by going to the house and putting pants on the kid. This seems like a neighbor problem. It's obvious that the sheriff doesn't know what is going on because their reasons for the arrest are dumb: snakes, a disabled babysitter and rain. If there was actually harm in the household, they'd say there's more to the story. I'm guessing the DFCS went a little Bonfire of the Vanities to show how they can railroad white moms too.

From the picture, it looks like the children all belong to the ex husband.; 2/10/22, 8:14 AM
Tina848 said...: Last year one of the neighborhood little boys, aged 5, came over to play with my daughter. Logan had 1 shoe on and his skateboard. I asked home why he only had 1 shoe, and he told me he just needed that one to push the skateboard. Loagan does not like shoes or jackets. He came inside, we had cookies and I texted his mom in tears I was laughing so hard. She had gone to the bathroom and he had escaped. Logan does not like being in the house, either. This was during the lock down. THIS is how the Georgia situation should have been handled. Logan also climbs trees, plays in the creek near our properties, and brought his poor mom a garter snake.; 2/10/22, 9:02 AM
Tina Trent said...: As I stated, DFACS investigated the complaint and refused to take any action. They deemed the mom's behavior non-problematic.

You should see some case files where nothing is done when mom is just, say, smoking crack. In Florida, the standard for removal in a crack household isn't leaving the kids alone: it's whether the mom or dad smoked the crack in the presence of the child. So mom can take off all night partying and keep her kids so long as she promises to never do it again and the kids didn't see it.

Most cases, even serious ones, slip through the system. My neighbor had 13 kids and a drug problem and let violent boyfriends serially shack up with her all the time, but despite multiple complaints to police and DFACS, only one child was removed after a boyfriend broke his arm. In the street. In front of me. The kids were sexually abused and malnourished and could barely speak legibly, and taxpayers spent many hundreds of thousands of dollars giving mom "assistance" and decades of home visits and interventions to keep to the protocols of family unification. One 13-year old went to juvie after robbing and stabbing her John. And then she was back home again in no time. Last I heard, the mother was up to 14 kids.; 2/10/22, 9:10 AM
Tina Trent said...: As I stated, DFACS investigated the complaint and refused to take any action. They deemed the mom's behavior non-problematic.

You should see some case files where nothing is done when mom is just, say, smoking crack. In Florida, the standard for removal in a crack household isn't Using crack or leaving the kids alone: it's whether the mom or dad smoked the crack in the presence of the child. So mom can take off all night partying and keep her kids so long as she promises to never do it again and the kids didn't see it.

Most cases, even serious ones, slip through the system. My neighbor had 13 kids and a drug problem and let violent boyfriends serially shack up with her all the time, but despite multiple complaints to police and DFACS, only one child was removed after a boyfriend broke his arm. In the street. In front of me. The kids were sexually abused and malnourished and were so unparented they could barely speak legibly, and taxpayers spent many hundreds of thousands of dollars giving mom "assistance" and decades of home visits and interventions to keep to the protocols of family unification. One 13-year old went to juvie after robbing and stabbing her John. And then she was back home again in no time. Last I heard, the mother was up to 14 kids.; 2/10/22, 9:12 AM
Gravel said...: Tina Trent:

"It's cold here lately". That is utterly irrelevant, the case originated in May of 2020.

"Pilote is unlikely to be a leftist." Again, utterly irrelevant; as you point out, DFCAS investigated and dismissed the case, but Pilote chose to arrest her TWO WEEKS LATER. She committed no crime. There isn't any reason at all to think Pilote acted appropriately.

Blairsville is a tourist destination, it's not the banjo village in Deliverance. The terrain is not "precipitous" in town.

Something is dirty about this case, whether it's the neighbor or Pilote or both.; 2/10/22, 9:53 AM
FullMoon said...: TT said.

" She had gone to the bathroom and he had escaped. Logan does not like be"

Yep, childproof gizmos on doorknobs and deadbolts when they turn two.; 2/10/22, 12:25 PM