Girl: Mom Forced Genitalia Piercing

Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:35 PM EDT
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NAPLES — A 39-year-old woman forcefully had her 13-year-old daughter's genitalia pierced to make it uncomfortable for her to have sex, the girl told jurors in her mother's child abuse trial.

The girl, now 16, told jurors Wednesday that her mother asked a tattoo artist friend in 2004 to shave the girl's head to make her unattractive to boys and later held her down for the piercing.

"She was trying to protect me, but it hurt me," the girl testified. "It not only hurt me physically, but it hurt me mentally. ... That's emotionally scarring. That's physical abuse."

Prosecutor Steve Maresca said the mother called on a friend to shave the girl's head and do the piercing after realizing that she had been having sex, including with the mother's boyfriend.

Defense attorney Donald Day told jurors that the mother had trouble with her rebellious daughter and that the girl agreed to the piercing to help rebuild her mother's trust.

"It wasn't torture or extreme violence," Day said. "It was, in the young girl's words, to try to save her. ... That decision was a last-ditch effort. In my client's mind, she had no other options."

Child welfare officials were called after the girl became infected from the piercing.

The mother, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter's identity, is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Tammy Meredith, 43, who did the piercing in her home, was sentenced to a year in jail for her role. An arrest warrant has been issued for the mother's boyfriend on allegations he had sex with the girl.

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{"commentId":1129533,"authorDomain":"gwenny"}
Gwenny

::shrieks in rage:: Hold the b***h down and permanently remove her womb without anesthesia . . . .gods, how do people like this get to be parents?

{"commentId":1129533,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"gwenny"}
  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:42 PM EDT
{"commentId":1131543,"authorDomain":"jdl-28"}
jdl-28

I agree with Gwenny, there is a lot of people who should not be parents, but you can not stop them from having children. I feel this lady should get the full third years for doing this to her child, instead she should of turn her boy friend in for having sex with her door. I guess mon got jealous and took it out on here child, her boy friend come first.

{"commentId":1131543,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"jdl-28"}
    Reply#2 - Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:09 AM EDT
    {"commentId":1131824,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
    Brian White

    How the @!$%# is a genital piercing going to stop someone from having sex? They're done to increase sensitivity and pleasure (after they heal).

    {"commentId":1131824,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
    • 1 vote
    Reply#3 - Fri Oct 26, 2007 11:53 AM EDT
    {"commentId":1132997,"authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}
    Glinda

    Generally that's true, but factor in the piercing being done at home by your mom's friend... that's got to take the edge off.

    {"commentId":1132997,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}
    • 1 vote
    #3.1 - Fri Oct 26, 2007 6:38 PM EDT
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    {"commentId":1134141,"authorDomain":"s-tanfield1"}
    s-tanfield1

    I see the reasoning behind why the mother did what she did, but I do not believe it was right. I knew a lady from my work who went as far as shaving her 12 year-old daughter's hair off, and it traumatized the girl. Only she did it to help get rid of lice, not to make her unattractive to boys, although that does not make it right either. She will be emotionally scarred for the rest of her life because of the bullying in schools, the kids will never let her live it down. I believe for forcing her daughter to get her genitalia pierced is completely wrong and she should definately be punished.

    {"commentId":1134141,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"s-tanfield1"}
      Reply#4 - Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:48 PM EDT
      {"commentId":1135180,"authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
      Brian White
      Only she did it to help get rid of lice, not to make her unattractive to boys, although that does not make it right either

      Um, what is wrong with shaving her head if that's what it takes to get rid of the lice?

      {"commentId":1135180,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"wbrianwhite"}
        #4.1 - Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:02 PM EDT
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        {"commentId":1134552,"authorDomain":"krishna109"}
        krishna-167929

        This cruel practice is pretty rare in the west but it is widely practiced in many Islamic countries. More information: here and here

        {"commentId":1134552,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"krishna109"}
        • 2 votes
        Reply#5 - Sat Oct 27, 2007 4:31 PM EDT
        {"commentId":1136847,"authorDomain":"bernie-jackson"}
        Bernie Jackson

        Krishna is correct about infibulation. In Africa and the Middle East, it's a common alternative to chastity belts. Even when done by a doctor (there are foreign-born doctors in the US who will do infibulations for people from the same culture), there are medical risks. It's not only bad medicine, it's illegal in almost every state in the US.

        I don't know if Orthodox Jewish females still shave their heads or not. Centuries ago in Europe, Jewish women shaved their heads to make themselves unattrative to gentiles who often raped them. At home, Jewish women wore wigs, to be attractive to their husbands.

        {"commentId":1136847,"threadId":"167001","contentId":"1049211","authorDomain":"bernie-jackson"}
          Reply#6 - Sun Oct 28, 2007 2:51 PM EDT
          {"commentId":10404508,"authorDomain":"breelaboy"}
          breelaboyDeleted
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