Fla. Couple Accused of Locking Up, Starving 7-Year-Old Girl

AP Breaking News/ Tampa Bay Online ^ | 9/22/02

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A mother and her boyfriend were arrested for allegedly locking the woman's 7-year-old daughter in a room for four months and giving her so little food she looked like "a walking skeleton."

The girl weighed just 25 pounds, less than half the normal weight for a child her age, when police found her this month, according to a police report.

Connie Warrington, 23, and David LaPointe, 36, were arrested Friday on multiple counts of abuse, including caging, food deprivation and medical neglect, police said.

"She looked like a walking skeleton," police spokesman Joe Durkin said.

The girl told police that LaPointe hated her and deprived her of food because she "was bad." He punished her by biting her in the back, the police report said.

LaPointe and Warrington have two children of their own, a 1-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, who are healthy and in state custody.

The couple, originally from Glens Falls, N.Y., were being held without bail. Police did not know if they had attorneys.

The girl is now in the custody of her father, Daniel Sims, who alerted police to her condition after he went to Warrington's home this month with a court order to pick up the child.

In May, Warrington unlawfully took the girl from a New York hospital, where she was being treated for the effects of abuse, and moved to Tampa, Durkin said. Tampa police didn't have details of the alleged abuse.

AP-ES-09-22-02 1514EDT

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

The world's gone insane.

[Paul Atreides]

I just pray to God that we don't get any posts saying that this was a parent exercising her right to discipline her child, as in the Toogood case.

[Texaggie79]

Ponders turning this into another McGuckin flame thread......... naaaaa

[AngrySpud]

The world has BEEN insane for a long, long time. A story like this pops up every year or so. I can't imagine that a sane person could ever do or live with doing such a thing.

[Sungirl]

You mean the way they say it's ok to torture or kill or maim or do anything you want to your pets because pets are PROPERTY? Yeah..it's sick isn't it?

[scholar]

I just pray to God that we don't get any posts saying that this was a parent exercising her right to discipline her child, as in the Toogood case...

Amen to that! I just dropped in on an AOL chat room--something I have never done before. The commentary there was seriously frightening. Apparently many people don't grasp the difference between swatting a kid on the behind and punching them in the head.

[chasio649]

I can picture these people in my mind before i ever see a pic of them...that look in their eye that they are not quite there...can't seem to put it into words...just that evil, mentally deficient look.

[Prodigal Son]

Children and pets are not the same thing.

[glory]

I can not even understand this. Why wouldn't this selfish beast just give the 7 yr old over to her father to begin with instead of allowing this to happen? Oh, that's right, there probably was a nice child support check attached to the child that disuaded that from every happening. SICK! Poor child. I know she will never be the same, but hopefully her father can work from here and raise her to be functional by adulthood.

[Anticommie]

The couple, originally from Glens Falls, N.Y

Before anybody bashes Florida again lets face the reality: Florida gets about 1300 new residents every day, about 50% of it is a trash from NE. To accomodate this trash Jeb Bush keeps growing state governement to provide jobs for this trash since the private sector is unwilling to provide jobs for most of this trash. Now you can understand why there is so many trailer parks in Fla.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

If this article is factual, the only 'rights' they have is the 'right' to remain silent.

[glory]

In what way scholar? I find most at AOL are quite liberal and I would read what you just posted as these folks think even a swat on the butt is just as bad as a punch in the head--ie any hit is abuse. That's how it is on most parenting boards out there, that's for sure.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Here's another mother in need of your defense.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

There just IS no explanation for the RENO/GORE voting dummies. Sorry. I am a cracker and admit this.

[scouse]

A mother and her boyfriend were arrested

I have noticed that whenever a child is abused, the majority of the cases always have a live in boyfriend.

[templar]

The girl is now in the custody of her father, Daniel Sims, who alerted police to her condition after he went to Warrington's home this month with a court order to pick up the child.

This surprises me.

The surest way to be ignored by the authorities in a child endangerment complaint is to admit that you're the father of the endangered child. Maybe he was able to take the girl to them and show them? I'd venture to guess that he had made some attempts to call attention to the situation before and been ignored. Anyway, I'd like to know more of the details.

[Larry Lucido]

Shhh. Mike's busy running for Libertarian something-or-other. Leave him alone so he can at least have a chance to garner 1% of the vote.

[Paul Atreides]

Amen! I have no children, but I know that a child places his/her trust in the parent. The second that child is being abused, not reasonably disciplined, mind you, that trust is shattered. It is bad enough that children today have to be constantly on their guard when going out into the world. They need a place of refuge with people that they know will be there for them, to guide them, to nurture them, and to love them. I agree that discipline for a child is showing love for that child, but a beating, or in this case, starvation, is not love. It is sick. It is sad to think of the people who should be parents, but cannot have children, and then read about the people who should not be parents, having too many children, and abusing them.

[Paul Atreides]

I have noticed that, as well. Also, it usually comes out that the mother bounces from one relationship to another and the other kids are all by different fathers.