Sunburned Kids' Mom Defends Herself
Mother Arrested at County Fair Over Kids' Severe Sunburns

The Associated Press

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Aug. 23) - A day after being abruptly released from jail, a woman who allegedly allowed her children to become severely sunburned said Thursday she didn't do anything wrong.

Eve Hibbits, who had been jailed eight days, appeared on NBC's ``Today'' show one day after prosecutors dropped three felony counts, replacing them with a misdemeanor charge of child endangerment. Authorities said her three children were not as severely injured as officials had believed.

Hibbits was arrested Aug. 14, the day after a sheriff's deputy noticed her 2-year-old daughter, Rose, and 10-month-old twin boys, Thomas and Timmy, had sunburned faces at the Jefferson County Fair. Temperatures were in the 90s at the time.

Sheriff Fred Abdalla said the children did not have any sunscreen or shirts on when a deputy spotted them and took them to a first aid station. They were later treated at a hospital and released. He said their faces looked like they had been ``dipped in red paint.''

Hibbits, 31, told NBC she didn't think she had committed any crime, and being behind bars was awful.

``It felt like the walls of the jail were falling in on me. I ain't never been in jail,'' she said.

Her attorney, Shawn Blake, said the deputy had overreacted. ``The paramedics said it wasn't necessary, the kids were fine but they could take them to the hospital anyway,'' he told NBC.

Hibbits was released on her own recognizance and pleaded innocent to the misdemeanor. She had been held on $15,000 bond.

Hospital officials initially said the children suffered from second-degree burns but later reduced that to first-degree burns, Jefferson County Prosecutor Brian Felmet said.

``I don't feel they (the charges) were too severe based on that information,'' he said. ``With the benefit of hindsight with the information we have now, we feel they weren't warranted.''

The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, but Felmet said probation was likely.

While Hibbits could have faced five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each of the felonies, the sheriff said Wednesday he had not intended to imprison her.

``My intent was for the safety of the children, which was accomplished, and to give her a wake-up call,'' Abdalla said.

Felmet said authorities also were concerned because they thought that one of the twins had a collapsed lung. But medical records showed the boy's underdeveloped lung was the result of being born prematurely.

Hibbits' husband, Richard, was working at the fair and the family had been camping there. The family lives in Brilliant, a small town south of Steubenville.

I think that's ridiculous and somebody majorly overreacted. Sure, the mother should have put sunscreen on her kids, but she shouldn't have had to go to jail for "child-endangerment" if they only had 1st degree burns. That would be like saying that any mother who's child is still in their care gets a sunburn should go to jail for not making sure they were wearing sunscreen.

I think this was a case over zealous authorities. This woman should not have spent any time in jail. I do believe that she was negligent for allowing her children to get sunburned--no shirts, no sunscreen--on a scorching day. The twins were infants. Severe sunburns in childhood can cause malignant melanoma, an often fatal skin cancer, in adulthood.
It was her responsibility to protect her children and keep them out of harm's way. She should have been given a warning--perhaps a lesson in child-safety. I think it was an honest mistake on her part. Jail time for this was overboard.

The parents of the kids need a lesson in the dangers of sun burn and that cop badly, badly needs a lesson in how not to abuse his positon of authority. Think realistically about this: it's not healthy for kids or anyone to be exposed to the sun, but beyond educating parents and all of us as best we as a society can, what can be done about it? Is it really the job of cops to go around patrolling for sunburnt kids or kids with too much salt in their diets, ill fitting shoes or runny noses. What if the cop saw the kids playing with a toy that was small enough to be accidently swallowed? Would he have been within his rights to arrest the parent? Honestly, good intentions or not, I think that cop should be fired. He is in the wrong line of work. If he's so concerned about child endangerment he should be in a social services job of some sort other than police work.

I agree with mostly everything Kitt said. This is just another case in a long line of examples of the government trying to protect us from ourselves, by outlawing smoking, etc. I've heard it tossed around that legislators want to somehow outlaw fast food joints, because heaven forbid some people are fat. Well guess what, some people are fat even if they've never ate fast food in their lives.

Point being, I don't think it was the police officer's place to judge on the level of child endangerment. He has a right to alert proper authorities, such as social services, and bring those with more expertise in these matters in to investigate. I would be curious to know what the felony charges were. I suppose just felony child endangerment?

At any rate, it's a good thing the charges were reduced, and it is a shame she had to spend any time in jail.

That said, though, the woman should have been thinking about putting sun screen on the children. Hopefully she was at least smart enough to keep them hydrated.

Hey, speaking of mothers getting into trouble, here's an article that caught my eye:

Boy, 8, Still Breast-Feeding
Urbana, Ill- Prosecuters are again trying to force a woman to stop breast-feeding her 8-year-old son.

During a hearing Tuesday, Judge Ann Einhorn warned Lynn Stuckey, 34, against continuing the practice and set future court dates to consider the prosecutor's petition claiming neglect.

Stuckey lets her son nurse once every 10 days or so.

The state took custody of the boy in July 2000 after a baby sitter called a child-abuse line, and he remained in foster care for several months. Einhorn had OK'd his homecoming, saying Stuckey was no longer nursing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'm not really sure what to think about this. It's certainly not "normal", but I have a bit of a problem with calling this abuse or neglect. I'm just not sure what to think. It would be helpful to know if either the child or the mother seem to have any sort of psychological problems.

What do you all think?

Originally posted by Bootsy Whoosh

Boy, 8, Still Breast-Feeding
Urbana, Ill- Prosecuters are again trying to force a woman to stop breast-feeding her 8-year-old son.

During a hearing Tuesday, Judge Ann Einhorn warned Lynn Stuckey, 34, against continuing the practice and set future court dates to consider the prosecutor's petition claiming neglect.

Stuckey lets her son nurse once every 10 days or so.

The state took custody of the boy in July 2000 after a baby sitter called a child-abuse line, and he remained in foster care for several months. Einhorn had OK'd his homecoming, saying Stuckey was no longer nursing.


What do you all think?

That's sick. I've heard that before, but it's sick.

Sunburn- I could see how the mom would be locked up if she burned the children with a cigarette lighter or something like that, but not with sunburn.

Breast Feeding- I agree that its a bit odd, but the mother isn't neglecting the kid. If it was neglect, she wouldn't be paying ANY attention to the kid. jmo

Thank goodness those kids didn't suffer anything worse than a first degree sunburn. I had a second and third degree sunburn once on my legs. It's not pleasant. Aside from the pain, theres' the lovely colors your skin turns and than there's the...

Well, I'd better stop there.

As a single man with no children of my own, far be it for me to offer advice to parents, but...
I do believe that woman is a complete dunce for allowing her children to be harmed like that.
Sunscreen, lady! Everybody's using it these days...

Originally posted by Dr. Lu Delgado


That's sick. I've heard that before, but it's sick.

yes,yes it is

Originally posted by Bootsy Whoosh
I agree with mostly everything Kitt said.Okay, Bootsy, let me guess. You didn't agree that the guy should be in social services? Right? Because any person with a hankerin' for power wouldn't do well on that job for the same reasons that they'd do poorly as a cop. Right? :quest:

Originally posted by Bootsy Whoosh


Boy, 8, Still Breast-Feeding
Urbana, Ill- Prosecuters are again trying to force a woman to stop breast-feeding her 8-year-old son.

During a hearing Tuesday, Judge Ann Einhorn warned Lynn Stuckey, 34, against continuing the practice and set future court dates to consider the prosecutor's petition claiming neglect.

Stuckey lets her son nurse once every 10 days or so.

The state took custody of the boy in July 2000 after a baby sitter called a child-abuse line, and he remained in foster care for several months. Einhorn had OK'd his homecoming, saying Stuckey was no longer nursing.

Okay, that is just WRONG. :eek:

Originally posted by Plata


Okay, that is just WRONG. :eek:

Yes I agree. But it's not that she's neglecting or abusing him. I don't think she should be forced to stop, but that IS really odd.

Breastfeeding at 8. That sounds like a can of worms symptom, and not "In the best interest of the child". I'd say it's a form of abuse because it's the mothers responsibility to ween a child at an "appropriate" age. And by any standard that I've ever heard of, 8 is not an appropriate age, in terms of physical and mental nurturing, to be breastfeeding, unless one lives in a third world country where malnutrition could be a factor. A child breastfeeding at the age of 8 is sure to suffer repercussions as he or she grows older. Would any of you freely admit to having been breastfed up until the age of 8, even though it wouldn't have been your choice to have been doing it? And wouldn't you feel resentment towards your mother, and an undeserved sense of shame about yourself?

Originally posted by kittflynn
A child breastfeeding at the age of 8 is sure to suffer repercussions as he or she grows older. Would any of you freely admit to having been breastfed up until the age of 8, even though it wouldn't have been your choice to have been doing it? And wouldn't you feel resentment towards your mother, and an undeserved sense of shame about yourself?

I think it would definetely do phsychological damage to a child and being so young, they probably would take the blame for it, even though it wouldn't be their fault.