Mom Charged with Allowing Kids to Sunburn

FoxNews

[Tired of Taxes]

Mother Faces Charges for Allowing Kids to Get Sunburned

Tuesday, August 20, 2002

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio — A woman was arrested on felony charges for allegedly letting her three children get so severely sunburned they looked like they "were dipped in red paint."

Eve Hibbits was arrested a week ago on three counts of child endangerment, said Sheriff Fred Abdalla. She remained in jail Tuesday in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Abdalla said a deputy noticed her 2-year-old daughter and 10-month-old twin boys had severely sunburned faces at the Jefferson County Fair.

"She pushed her kids around the fairground all day last Tuesday, and it looked like those kids' faces were dipped in red paint," he said. "There was no sunscreen or nothing on these children."

The children had second degree sunburns and were treated with cold compresses, said Trinity Medical Center West spokesman Keith Murdock.

Hibbits, 31, of Brilliant, could face 15 years in jail if convicted of all three counts. A preliminary hearing was set for Wednesday.

Abdalla said Jefferson County Children's Services had been contacted about Hibbits' children in the past.

[Tired of Taxes]

All of us who have been mothers have made mistakes, from babies falling off beds to sunburns to having an outlet uncovered so the kids stick a key in it.... I have heard of women losing their children because of a messy house or because they didn't want their child to take Ritalin. I was once threatened with the loss of my child because the school counselor wanted me to admit my son to the mental hospital and I didn't want to do it.

Oh, gosh, Istillcare, don't I know about mothers not being perfect! I'm a mom, too - a stay-at-home homeschooler, to boot - and I've made my share of mistakes, too. Each one of my three babies fell off the bed, and one of the big reasons I don't send my sons to school is the Ritalin controversy (we know way too many kids on Ritalin).

I agree that the laws are getting scarier and scarier. So, on the one hand, I feel sorry for a 10-month-old with a second-degree sunburn... But, on the other hand, charging the mother with abuse/neglect/whatever and threatening her with a 15-year sentence for it is outrageous! I thought this story was another in a long line of scary stories about how far the government will go, and I thought it was significant enough to post here.

[Tired of Taxes]

So should they be charged with neglect? How about when my best friend took my kids to the beach and last years sunscreen was no longer effective?

Good point, aberaussie. It can be taken too far. I used to burn and burn when I was a kid - that's how a light-skinned person gets a tan - the redness eventually turns brown. =) I would burn and peel; and I still have the marks from a bad sunburn I got in South America on one arm - sun poison, blistering and oozing - it was disgusting (and stupid on my part). But, while I think it's terrible that a 2-year-old and 10-month-old had such severe sunburns, I also think this case sets a dangerous precedent.

[StriperSniper]

Where do we stop?

No, the question is when do we stop them?

We have given up control of our own bodies, why should anyone have any control over any others, even their children? The State needs obedient drones not citizens. I hope enough of the sheep find their teeth on the day of the slaughter that is fast approaching.

[HEY4QDEMS]

"I also think this case sets a dangerous precedent."

I couldn't agree more, but there's also this little warm feeling within in me that more and more people are becoming tired of the institution of child protective services.

Like most bureaucracies, they can't see the forest for the trees and cases like this are the nails in thier own coffins.

[KneelBeforeZod]

Eve Hibbits, shown in this photo from the Jefferson County (Ohio) Sheriff's Department, could be sentenced to 15 years in jail if convicted of three child endangering charges for letting her children get severely sunburned at the Jefferson County Fair last week. A deputy arrested Hibbits last Tuesday after noticing Hibbits' 2-year-old girl and twin 10-month-old boys with severely sunburned faces. (AP Photo/Jefferson County Sheriff's Department)

(looking for her red stapler?)

[HEY4QDEMS]

A picture is worth a thousand words.
I thought John Candy was dead

[Saundra Duffy]

My mother let us get sunburned many times when we were kids. Like she did it on purpose! (My father let us get sunburned, too.)

[Diddle E. Squat]

Cue up the B-52's "Rock Lobster".

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/736747/posts

[Coleus]

This is crazy, I think the chief of police wanted to make a name for himself, well he has and I can't write it here.

When I was a kid we got sunburnt all the time at the shore, the lake, at camp and other open places. That's life. I know today we have more choices with sun blocks but getting a sun burn is not abuse, it's part of growing up.

When will this nonsense ever end.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Last I heard, prosecution is on the defensive. Originally, it was going to be 15 years for felony charges. Now down to 6 months, and I'm not sure if I heard Hannity say it would be misdemeanor charges or not. Still, 6 months is insane. Even one day is a dangerous precedent.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

It would be grand if Bush would promise to consider pardoning her. Imagine the gratitude all mothers would feel toward Bush. At the same time, Bush need only say that this is a slippery slope, endangering everyone's freedom, and that he will consider pardoning any mother who is convicted of sunburn. At the same time, Bush should have strong words about the hazards of skin cancer. Freegards....

[sparkydragon]

Here's the problem I had. Start on trip to water park at ten o'clock. Apply sunscreen to face in the car. Get to waterpark apply sunscreen to all exposed areas with Mom watching, including reapplication to face. Two hours later everyone is back to the table to put on more sunscreen with special attention to face. Repeat every two hours. By three o'clock my sister and I start to look a little pink. Mom steps up reapplication to every hour (with numerous complaints from us) and applies aloe lotion along with it. Leave around eight or nine. By the time we get home we have turned all sorts of shades of red. Face is the worst burnt portion. By the time we wake up in the morning it is already peeling. Where's the neglect there? How often are you supposed to reapply the 12 hour waterproof sunscreen before its child endangerment?

sparky

[Coleus]

Yea, it's crazy out there, all you have to do is sweat a little bit and it's off. Plus these sun screens are not cure alls either, many do not have the proper chemicals in the proper strengths. And kids are always wiping their face, forehead, their brow, wiping their faces after they eat.

All that dumb ass cop wanted to do was make a name for himself.... a** hole, there now he has one.