A minor moral dilemma...

526SadieSadie

So I was Facebook stalking this morning.  Hurricane Earl is making everyone lose their minds so it's beyond quiet at work.

I came across the younger sister of a girl I knew in high school.  We weren't friends but we weren't enemies, we just knew of each other.  In our senior year, the older sister, younger sister and their parents were arrested for dealing drugs.  Apparently, things only got worse from there and they all continue to sell drugs and there are rumors that both sisters are dealing and prostituting.

The younger sister's profile is so graphic and disgusting I hope that someone who has a beef with her hacked in and wrote what's there.  I really hope this girl isn't ok with what her profile says.  It pulls no punches and gives lots of detail (and phone numbers) about illegal activity.  That's her business, if she wants to deal, it doesn't effect me.  But there's mention of her and her family abusing her infant daughter.  My gut tells me to report it to the police.  Another little girl doesn't need to be brought up like that.   The older sister has three kids who, according to the profile, have been taken away from her.

My question is...do I call the police and report possible child abuse or assume it's a prank by an angry ex and mind my own business?

missy68

I'd feel morally obligated to report any child abuse allegations.

When I taught, I was legally obligated.

AllAboutTheBenjamin

I would.  Definitely.  No one has to know that it's you that called it in.  It's on Facebook, it's public info.

If it is a prank by her ex, or she didn't write what's there, the police will find that out. 

[Deleted User]

I would report it. I don't mess around with child abuse stuff.

526SadieSadie

That's what I was thinking, too.  If the baby is getting abused...I don't think I'll be able to sleep without reporting it...

kd.joseph

Be on the safe side and report it. They are obviously nasty people anyway, so maybe it will get someone's attention if her sisters kids have been taken away it sure isn't right for the other one to be left there.

526SadieSadie

I'll call on my lunchbreak, I'll let you know how it turns out

AllAboutTheBenjamin

Thanks Sadie!!!  Good luck.

mocha beans

I'd be calling it in too, even if I wasn't mandated to.  I'd feel horribly guilty for not calling it in if she showed up on the news at some point.

kpwedkk

I would call it in as well, it's something you saw on a public website (fb), it's a plea for help!

526SadieSadie

ok.  I called the PD for the city the profile says she lives in.  They listened, but they said without an address, they can't check on it.  The officer suggested I call DCYF.
I told DCYF the whole story, I don't know if anything will come of it.

AllAboutTheBenjamin

Oh my gosh...

You should see if you can look up her address on WhitePages.com or something. 

526SadieSadie

mm.  I told the officer "it's not privacy protected, you could open Facebook and look at it as easily as I did"  He said "we don't do that, ma'am" 

SarahPLiz

I'd report it to the police. If you report it to FB, they could shut down her profile and there would be no evidence for the police to track going forward. The sooner you call the police hte better. 

526SadieSadie

UPDATE:
I looked again and low and behold, there's an address there.  I saw the phone numbers the first time, I didn't see the address.  So I called the police back and told them.  The officer told me to call DCYF back and give them the info.  The proper procedure is for DCYF to do a primary investigation and they would contact the police department if they found neglect and criminal activity.  I'm shaking.  This is definitely not how I thought I'd be spending my Friday afternoon.  I just hope I'm not sending the police on a wild goose chase because this girl pissed off the wrong guy and he decided to fuuck with her FB profile; but you all are right, if there's even an inkling that a child is being abused, you have to report it.

AllAboutTheBenjamin

Glad to hear this Sadie...

Even if it is a wild goose chase, think of it this way - at least you now have a clear conscience.

HKD817

I agree with prior posts. I would report it if you suspect something. On the other hand, falsely reporting someone to child protective services is a class A misdemeanor. If you do decide to report it, i would explain the entire thing beginning to end so they can decide on how to act.

[Deleted User]

I came in late, but I'm glad you called. It's stupid they wouldn't do anything without an address. Calling DCYF is probably better anyway though. When agents at DCF get a call they always go out and check up at the house, and even research the person if possible (like via FB).

I hope they can help that little girl.

Shaye526

I would take a screenshot of the profile page showing the mention of abuse also, so that if it's changed, there's proof that it was there. Might be useful.

Jelenny

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_minor-moral-dilemma?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:72f4b19f-558f-4d80-ac08-eb86cd15b357Post:ae46ccd5-4e9f-4a91-adfe-f0428f285b3a">Re: A minor moral dilemma...</a>:
[QUOTE]I would take a screenshot of the profile page showing the mention of abuse also, so that if it's changed, there's proof that it was there. Might be useful.
Posted by Shaye526[/QUOTE]

exactly!

just in the event of what is posted disappearing....

Celles

A little late to the thread, but I'm calling bullsh!t on the PD's response.

Once upon a time, I moderated a forum devoted to anime and anime fanfiction.  (For the record, anime is NOT one of my many geekdoms, but I was dating the site's owner and would help him out from time to time.) 

One night -- suspiciously close to April 1st -- one of our regs posted a suicide note.  I was pretty sure it was just a prank, but I looked up his IP address and called his local police department.  They contacted his ISP for his street address, and dispatched an officer to his house to make sure it wasn't serious.  Turns out he was a teenage kid living at home and -- surprise! -- dad was a cop.

Point being: it is very possible to take action in situations if you want to take action.

Kudos to you, Sadie, for doing the right thing and being persistent about it.

AllAboutTheBenjamin

That's a crazy story Celles...

Mioh1

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_minor-moral-dilemma?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:72f4b19f-558f-4d80-ac08-eb86cd15b357Post:b81115e9-8201-4b56-9b82-8fdfb7eb1e0e">A minor moral dilemma...</a>:
[QUOTE]So I was Facebook stalking this morning.  Hurricane Earl is making everyone lose their minds so it's beyond quiet at work. I came across the younger sister of a girl I knew in high school.  We weren't friends but we weren't enemies, we just knew of each other.  In our senior year, the older sister, younger sister and their parents were arrested for dealing drugs.  Apparently, things only got worse from there and they all continue to sell drugs and there are rumors that both sisters are dealing and prostituting. The younger sister's profile is so graphic and disgusting I hope that someone who has a beef with her hacked in and wrote what's there.  I really hope this girl isn't ok with what her profile says.  It pulls no punches and gives lots of detail (and phone numbers) about illegal activity.  That's her business, if she wants to deal, it doesn't effect me.  But there's mention of her and her family abusing her infant daughter. <strong> My gut tells me to report it to the police.  Another little girl doesn't need to be brought up like that. </strong>  The older sister has three kids who, according to the profile, have been taken away from her. My question is...do I call the police and report possible child abuse or assume it's a prank by an angry ex and mind my own business?
Posted by 526SadieSadie[/QUOTE]


It's good that you reported it before it had a depressing ending like this story.

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://current.com/16m0s4c">http://current.com/16m0s4c</a>

missy68

Any charges with reporting incorrect child neglect stories I believe, has to be done with willful knowledge that it is incorrect - say, an ex getting "back" when he knows the children are perfectly fine.

To say so will discourage others from reporting what could be terrible situations.

Otherwise, no one would report anything.

skyler1108

I would report it to child services. Better to be safe than sorry.

Blueyed228

What kind of post was it?

Im glad you called but I cant for the life of me figure out why someone would post that their child is being abused.  People are nuts!