Posted on 03/21/2006 6:38:34 PM PST by iPod Shuffle
Man did not rescue child for fear of 'pervert' slur
ALEX CORNELIUS
A BRICKLAYER who passed a toddler walking alone in a village shortly before her fatal fall into a pond said yesterday he did not stop to help in case people thought he was trying to abduct her.
Clive Peachey, from Cornwall, told an inquest jury in Stratford-upon-Avon that he had passed two-year-old girl, Abby Rae, in his van shortly after 10am on 28 November, 2002.
This was just moments after the toddler disappeared from the Ready Teddy Go nursery in the Warwickshire village of Lower Brailes, according to staff.
Abby was found an hour later in an algae-covered garden pond and rescued by her mother, Victoria Rae.
She was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital by air ambulance but was pronounced dead.
Mr Peachey, of Liskeard, told the inquest he had passed the little girl as she tottered towards the road in High Street.
He said: "I kept thinking I should go back. The reason I didn't go back was because I thought people might think I was trying to abduct her.
"I was convinced her parents were driving around and had found her."
Mrs Rae, 36, wept as Mr Peachey gave his evidence to the packed hearing.
She had earlier read emotionally from a statement as she relived the moment she dragged her daughter from the pond.
Two nursery employees had gone into the garden during their search but told the inquest they did not see the pond because it was covered in green vegetation.
The inquest was adjourned until today.
Not when it involves a small child. You save the child first, yourself second.
To be honest, I would not have thought of the potential repercussions of helping a child. But, I don't think I would have put her in my car and gone to the police station.
bttt
I couldn't help but notice the car scenario being brought into the discussion.
I've decided that many need the car as another scapegoat to justify their stand aside, me first mentalities.
I agree with you. About a year ago while out driving I saw a boy around four years old by himself, walking along a fairly well traveled road. He was near a house so naturally I wondered if that's where he lived. I didn't want to stop and approach him because that could be taken the wrong way. So I turned the car around & pulled over a little ways up from him and picked up my cell phone. I figured I'd give it about a minute hoping an adult would come out or that he'd go back toward the house. As I was starting to call 911 he headed back to the house. Problem solved. I could not drive away leaving him unattended at the side of the road. Pity the man in the story didn't call the police.
All that I can say about your situation is what I would do. I will protect ANY children within my ability to do so. On that note, I also am not the guy in your local comminity designated to do that. heh.
Something like this happened to me about 1 1/2 years ago on a summer afternoon. I went to the neighborhood grocery store, a few blocks from my house. About a block from there lived toddler triplets and their parents. Even at this young age, they were notorious for being in the street, or being left outside alone to play. As I turned the corner, I saw what at first glance I thought was a small dog or cat. I quickly realized it was the little girl. Her brothers were not out. I quickly stopped the car, and got between her and the middle of the road, to stop her progress. A grandfatherly man on the other side of the street shouted out to me that they were always 'escaping' and one day one of them was going to get hit by a car. I told her to hurry back into her house because cars were coming. She looked at me and then obediently ran into her yard. At this point, mom came out, yelled at her and looked at me weirdly. I muttered something about how fast toddlers are and how quickly they can escape. She slammed the door shut, still yelling at the child. I was very glad the old guy had witnessed the whole thing. They did later put up a fence.
Things have changed a very lot in a short time. Years ago, when my son was much younger, a young toddler had 'gotten away', crossed the road, and started talking to my son and I at a local park. We took him by the hand and walked him back in the direction he came to grateful parents. Now, it's like we have to stop, wasting valuable time, to decide the best way to handle it. The pervs to seem to have the upper hand here, changing the way we react to situations.
It's a good thing ya spell your name right!, I was just afixing to get on ya, my ex spells her name "Shanon"... : ) <<< me
Not to mention, I have heard, that if charges are filed, even if they are dropped (accuser recants etc.), here in California you must still register as a sex offender...for the rest of your life.
That's a load of crap. A shipmate and I were on shore patrol in Toulon once when we observed two guys dragging a woman into a doorway. We ran to the nearest police station which happened to be less than a block away. The "officer" there told us to mind our own business.
I know. While reading these posts and understanding where these guys are coming from in shying away from helping a child in need, it makes me incredibly sad to realize the world is at a point that most would pass my child by because of fear.
I would have done the right thing. Call the police.
Eat, walk, eat, walk, watch the kids, walk some more. Sandwich now finished, I turn around, fully expecting to see my family. I head back in the direction I came, but just a short time later, I STILL don't see them. Hysterical crying ensues.
Two little girls come over and bring me to their father. The girls assure me their daddy can help me, and I let him pick me up. He brings me to the ranger station, where they are already on alert for a missing child - ME.
I had walked two parking fields over. My parents couldn't believe it. After a short ride in the ranger's jeep, we are reunited. Hysterical crying ensues.
Mom and Dad pack up the family and we go home. More hysterical crying ensues, this time by my angry brothers.
Finally, we get home, where I am sent to my room. A short time later, I get a spanking, to remind me to not stray away from my parents in public places.
And yes, hysterical crying ensued.
There in no moral justification for allowing a helpless child to die. I can always get a lawyer, but the child will never get another life.
It's pretty easy to be self righteous when you're not (as) subject to the same accusations and the resulting personal destruction that will follow.
No, it is the law.
Often the law is not enforced.
In a case like yours, it was not.
In a case like this, though, it would be.
I guess more good people are reluctant to get involved in things. More good people are getting frightened away than bad people. I think that child molesters should be executed but we live in a political culture that proclaims that merely being male means that one is a rapist.
bump
I would never let popular opinion dictate what is right. We would all be speaking German right now if we were all conformists.
Night Garv.
Neither will result in a lawsuit but both have death sentences.
You will turn you back on a child in need to save yourself and now you will attack a woman on a message board. Who has said nothing to you.
Sounds like you have run into one of these, huh?
The solution is simple; notice nothing except the traffic, road conditions, and the state of your own vehicle. Recall nothing. Make a habit of this. Or, at least, say you do so.
Child? I didn't see any child. By the road you say? Well, traffic is so bad these days, I have to keep my eyes on the road to avoid any chance of an accident. But I don't recall anything in particular about that day. I go that way from time to time, but whether I was driving by on that particular day or not I don't remember.
Reputation intact.
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