Police: Baby Sitter Bound Toddler, Took Picture (sick freak of the day)

turnto10 ^

[chance33_98]

Police: Baby Sitter Bound Toddler, Took Picture
Baby Sitter Charged With Aggravated Child Abuse

POSTED: 7:44 a.m. EDT June 27, 2002

TAVARES, Fla. -- Police arrested a baby sitter for allegedly binding the ankles, wrists and mouth of a toddler with duct tape and taking a picture.

Sondra Lynn Giffin, 18, of Leesburg, was charged Tuesday with aggravated child abuse. She was released Wednesday from the Lake County Jail on $10,000 bail.

A developer at Wal-Mart, where Giffin also works, saw the picture of the bound 22-month-old girl and turned it over to police.

The photo shows the girl sitting with her ankles bound and her taped wrists in her lap. She gazed at the camera with wide eyes and a strip of duct tape over her mouth.

Giffin is friends with the girl's mother and told detectives she took the picture when she was baby-sitting a month ago. Giffin said she had no attention of hurting the girl and said the photo was taken as play for the child, according to Lake County Sheriff's reports.

The Department of Children and Families investigated the child's home and found that it was safe.

Leesburg is 35 miles northwest of Orlando.

[chance33_98]

There goes her baby sitting career!

[EggsAckley]

We are breeding from the bottom of the pool.

[DoughtyOne]

the Case of the Freeper FRiva Feva is under scrutiny - super-sleuths are welcomed
come resolve the way to yesterday's Target Post, you're not out of the running yet
win your registration fees to the FRive Las Vegas Conference if you dare

 
 

[brewcrew]

Giffin said she had no attention of hurting the girl....

Okay. Who wrote this story? And who was their editor?

The language gets slaughtered again, and the rest of us go merrily on our way.

[Loc123]

If anything the babysitter is the victim! We must ask ourselves: why did this babysitter do this to that person? We should enroll her in a support classes, paid for on the taxpayers money of course, and determine the root cause of this misunderstanding.

Oh btw

/sarcasm big time here! I just couldn't resist tapping into my dark side for a minute.

This girl is deranged and should be put in a work program in a medium security prison.

[Guillermo]

I was about to point out the same thing.

The level of literacy among the media is astonishingly low.

[borntodiefree]

There is not enough information to determine if the girl "is sick". Or if it was ....just read for a second... someone funning with the child and/or mom and it got blown out of proportion.

I have pictures of me, at about 24 months, outside in my cowboy hat and boots and nothing else...it was not child pornography, it was funny. I also have a picture of me, at about three, in a old western town with my hands tied in front of me and the other end of the rope tied to a fake horse. My folks would say, in fun, something along the lines that if I didn't behave, they were going to have to take me back and hall me off to jail tied to the back of the horse. It was nothing more than some inside family humor.

Now it clearly would have said if the child was nude and such, but it didn't so my assumption is that the child was clothed. If the baby sitter was playing around and was going to make a picture showing the mom "See, I had your daughter completely under control" in fun, then I think it may have been blown out of proportion. I'm no sure about using "duck tape", unless it was only on the clothes and a wet piece on the mouth just long enough to take the picture, but I guess the question is, do we always jump to the worst possible conclusion?

Just to clarify, I am not condoning any type of child abuse and/or neglect, I am just trying to say we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

[borntodiefree]

Just to clarify, my cowboy hat/cowboy boot picture, was when I went outside by myself and was getting into paint and my parents caught me not them setting me up for the photo. I know too many peoples mind works that way.

[borntodiefree]

Just to clarify, my cowboy hat/cowboy boot picture, was when I went outside by myself and was getting into paint and my parents caught me not them setting me up for the photo. I know too many peoples mind works that way.

[splach78]

There is a world of difference though between the pictures you described of yourself and a babysitter taking pictures of a toddler bound, with duct tape over her mouth. Even if it was in fun, duct tape? That stuff hurts.

[r9etb]

OK, it was probably not all that bright a joke, but I believe that it was indeed a joke. This is way overblown.

[borntodiefree]

Agreed, like I said, there isn't enough information for us to draw a conclusion...Was it duct tape, but she put it on upside down (sticky side out) so that it didn't hurt the child and it was staying just becuase of the water... Did the girl not realize it was going to hurt and it was just a mistake (only on the mouth)...Was the tape on the legs and hands, or just on the clothes?

None of these questions are addressed, and I know we all get on here to banter, but we don't want to slander

[smith288]

How would you know? Hmmmmm? ;)

[splach78]

There isn't enough information, but it doesn't sound good AT ALL. If this were my child, I would be livid, whether it was in jest, or meant to harm the child.

[borntodiefree]

Is that really true? (No, I'm not calling you a liar, just asking you to think a little further). What if it was your spouse? While you went fishing or whatever, your spouse decided to mess with you. Dressed the kid up in long sleeve and long pants. Duct taped the feet and hands together (on the clothes) and took a poloraid and unbound the kid (who of course is going to think it was funny). Then when you came home, your spouse showed you the picture and said, "See, I had Franky fully under control the whole time." I must admit I would think it was pretty funny.

So suposidly the babysitter and mom had been good friends for a long time. Like I said, I think it just got blown out of proportion, I could be wrong, but I just don't have enough info.

[Skip Ripley]

If someone did that to my daughter there wouldn't be a hole deep enough to hide in...

[Frank Grimes]

are you effing kidding me? My daughter is the exact same age as this poor child. Do you think she would know if it was a joke or not? Even if it was her sick idea of a joke, that poor little girl was probably wondering what she did wrong to make that happen to her.

She gazed at the camera with wide eyes and a strip of duct tape over her mouth.

I would KILL the babysitter if she pulled something like that with my baby!

[Delbert]

If I left my kids with a baby sitter and the baby sitter pulled some crap like this, whether a joke or not, I would duct tape there genitals to their foreheads.

[Delbert]

Shes a little angel there Frank, I have a 14 month old daughter at home. First girl for me and I'm a bit nervous, considering how its been "open season" on young girls across this country lately. (Van Dam & Smart abductions, 2 girls in Oregon and on and on and on....) I watch her like a hawk and will Keeeeeeel anyone that so much as harms a hair on her pretty little head.

[Frank Grimes]

Thanks for the kind words. I feel the same way about her when I hear about the abductions happening. I honestly think I would go "Falling Down" on the world if someone took her away from me or tried to hurt her.