Father who chained daughter says he had no choice
Posted on 11/27/2002 5:13:25 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Father who chained daughter says he had no choice
11/26/2002
GALVESTON, Texas - A Sante Fe father says the felony charges against him for shackling his 12-year-old daughter, and the publicity surrounding the case, have plunged him into dire straits, ruining his chances of finding a job and forcing him to live in a tent.
Ronnie Eugene Robbins, 33, has said he had no choice but to restrain his daughter after a judge threatened criminal charges if the girl's parents couldn't stop her from skipping school.
Robbins said he began living in a two-person tent in his mother-in-law's backyard after he was ordered to stay away from his daughter until the investigation was complete. The tent was provided by a German media crew who took up a collection to pay for it.
Robbins, who mows lawns for a living, said his family's income was meager before his Oct. 31 arrest, but that the case has made things worse.
"We were just keeping our heads above water, living day to day, paycheck to paycheck, but we were making it," Robbins said in Tuesday's editions of The Galveston County Daily News. "Now we've been left to drown in an ocean of lies, poor legal advice, homelessness, poverty, loneliness and worries."
Scrounging to find a lawyer, Robbins this past weekend placed a six-page letter on the windshields of cars parked at the newspaper's island office.
"If this letter should reach the eyes of a good lawyer, would you please contact me," the letter said, leaving a number for his mother-in-law's house. "I have no money at present, and I'm still being subpoenaed to court and fined."
Some family members support Robbins, saying he would never hurt his children.
"He's a great guy," said his brother-in-law, Adam Williams. "He's family, and I love him as a brother."
Robbins was arrested late October after a woman called police to report seeing a girl whose ankles were chained at a gas station.
The girl was filling a container, while a man told her that he had only paid for $1 worth of gasoline and threatened to break her legs if she pumped any more than that, police said.
Robbins on Monday said that he had no intention of breaking his daughter's legs, and he was using a figure of speech.
He said school officials told him Oct. 16 that his daughter had only attended Santa Fe Junior High School about 10 days of the school year.
When he caught his daughter trying to sneak out a few nights later, Robbins said he restrained her.
"I wrapped a towel around her right leg for padding. I then told her to lock the chain around the towel. She did so in full cooperation. I checked to ensure her comfort, and wore the key around my left wrist as we slept, just in case there was an emergency of some sort and we had to get out of the house fast," he said.
If convicted of child injury and endangerment charges, Robbins faces up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Robbins said his daughter is attending school every day.
A lawn mowing kid chaining kind of guy. Where's the mention of a trailer????
Interesting figure of speech. I don't recall it being used in my house, but then again, my parents never showed their love by putting me in shackles.
But, then, you probably went to school willingly. I'm not going to defend everything this guy is alleged to have done, but the judge threatened criminal charges if his daughter didn’t go to school. What is a parent supposed to do? On one had, they are responsible for everything their child does. On the other hand, they can’t do anything to control their kids. Catch-22
Not a trailer ---a tent.
I know a girl who was 13 years old, constantly running away to live with her 21 year old 'boyfriend', drugs, the whole bit. When the cops finally caught her, her parents immediately took her to the airport (not even stopping at home for clothing), put her on a plane, and sent her to Girl's Town.
Girls Town did not 'cure' her, but boy they put her back on the right road. After her time there, she slowly began to head to a life of maturity and responsibility.
Today she has a successful law practice, happily married with one kid.
At the time her parents sent her there, I thought they made a huge mistake. But years later it was obvious that they were dead on.
I disagree. There is another option that people don't think of. See #9.
You sure can pick 'em.
I love these threads.
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