Picture-Perfect Mom Goes to Trial

Picture-Perfect Mom Goes to Trial

Thursday, March 13, 2008

filed under: family

You'll never believe why this Mom is being accused of child abuse.

Yesterday in Moms Are Talking About, we told you about the mother who was arrested for leaving her child alone in the car for less than a minute. We spoke exclusively with her husband, Tim Janecyk.

Mom•Logic: What happened?
Tim: On December 8th, 2007, my two older daughters, Sierra, 9, and Haley, 8, were at my office with one of their friends. They found a bunch of loose change and asked if they could collect it and take it to the Salvation Army bucket at the local Wal-Mart. My wife, Treffly, took them to donate the money. Not long after they left my office, I received a call from my wife, crying. She said, "I am at the Wal-Mart being arrested, and they are taking our child!"

ML: Why was your wife being arrested?
Tim: When my wife got to Wal-Mart, she quickly parked the car, ran about 30 feet (approximately two car lengths) to the Salvation Army bucket with the older girls, then was heading back to her car when the police stopped her. She was arrested for leaving our 2-year-old, Phoebe, in the car by herself, and the police said they were taking our baby into protective custody. The police left Treffly handcuffed in the back of their car for more than an hour. Meanwhile, my daughters were inside Wal-Mart crying. It was a confusing and chaotic situation created by the police.

ML: How has your wife been handling this?
Tim: It's been difficult. It's tearing my wife up. She's been labeled a child abuser by the state. Child Protective Services comes to our house whenever they want. They search our house and say they're "doing their job," but it's an incredible violation to have them do this when there is no neglect or abuse.

ML: When does your wife go to court?
Tim: My wife goes on trial today at 1:30 pm. She is facing up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. She will be facing a prosecutor and judge because they say she's a child abuser. Two weeks ago, we received a report from the Department of Child and Family Services saying the state has found found no abuse or neglect. I believe the judge will throw this case out within minutes. When this is over, my wife and I want the laws to be fixed so no other family has to go through something like this. It's been an absolute nightmare.

What do you think of this case? Comment below.

filed under: family

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I am so sorry that your family is having to endure this. How many times have any of us parked by the mailbox, left our kids inside, and gotten out to check the mail? How many of us have put our kids in the car, buckled them in, and then remember something we forgot in the house? Is it abuse in these situations? What about the people who literally beat their children within inches of their lives, and nothing is done? I think this is absolutely unfair to your wife, your children, and you. NO ONE should have to go through this. I hope everything turns out for the best and somehow this terrible event can be put behind you. I will be thinking about you today at 1:30. From one caring/concerned parent to another.

- Misty-Jo

Posted 03/13/08 09:24 AM

Our system is so messed up. Ditto on the previous comment.

- Dot

Posted 03/13/08 10:44 AM

Obviously, she left her in the car for more time than he is leading on. Someone had to have spotted the baby, had time to call the police and enough time for them to get to the scene. I think she was wrong for doing this. I’m not saying that she should go to jail, but she should have consequences. Anything could have happend to that child in that time. Why didn’t she just pull up to the curb near the door if it was just a minute? Seems kind of weird if you ask me.

- Regina

Posted 03/13/08 10:50 AM

- Regina

Posted 03/13/08 10:52 AM

Perhaps, the police were just cruising the parking lot and saw the child alone and then seconds later saw the mom coming back.

- Sheri

Posted 03/13/08 11:07 AM

I truely feel bad for this woman. The system is so screwed up at this point. No one knows what the other is doing and why. I know of cases where CPS has been involved and they really do not seem to have the best interest of the child at heart. They do what they want and when they want no matter who they hurt in the mean time. They have allowed the power to go to their heads. Speaking of power, it seems to me that they have way to much of it. Saying that they can come to your house at any time and judge you on any little thing, it is just wrong. No one is perfect and CPS needs to put their focus on people who really have done horrible things to children and maybe then we won’t have to hear about kids dying by the hands of their parents. We also need to take back control and stand up for our rights as parents. Not allowing them to come in to our homes and judge us and then take our children. Do they really think that taking a child from a home that is loving and caring and trying their best to be good parents is really for the best of the child? I don’t think so! These people need to wake up and do their jobs right and quit wasting time and money on things that really are not abuse. I really hope that judge throws this out of court and wipes her record clean of all of this. She deserves it! My prayers are with her.

- Wendi

Posted 03/13/08 11:19 AM

CPS is like any government agency, they do as much as they can to ensure their funding, even if this means falsely accusing loving parents of obscure things like “emotional abuse.” Agents get bonuses for every child they remove from a home, so their incentive is to remove all the children they can. The American people have voted time and time again for a stronger nanny state, and all we get is more government beaurocracy trying to perpetuate itself and control our lives.

- Chuck

Posted 03/13/08 11:38 AM

Chuck’s comment, while true, saddens me. I know that ticket cops get commission for tickets, but now kids are relegated to that same status? If all facts are true according to her hubby, than that policeman is ridiculous. He should have at least had the decency to let her call a family member so that the children didn’t have to see their mother being arrested. That can be so traumatic. And people wonder why I don’t trust cops.

- SugarPlumFairy

Posted 03/13/08 11:42 AM

Traffic cops do not get commission for tickets, at least not here in New York, Is that legal anyw here? or just a myth?

- Sheri

Posted 03/13/08 12:55 PM

This is why I am afraid of politicians who would want to make government bigger or increase government regulation of our lives. I fear large government more than large corporations. At least companies have to compete against one another. A government can have a monopoly on tyranny.

- George

Posted 03/13/08 01:36 PM

Both CPS and the police need to find the real criminals out there! If what the husband is saying is completely true, I think the torment this family is enduring is absurd. My husband asked me why I don’t just leave my baby in the car when I pick up the dry cleaning- I literally walk less than 10 steps from the car- my response is “read this!” You never know. Now I’m not saying people should ever leave their babies in cars but come on- we need to chill out!

- Karen

Posted 03/13/08 01:42 PM

That is unbelievable. Sometimes, people are so busy worrying about the person next to them. They need to mind their own business. You can’t even discipline your children anymore w/o someone looking at you funny. A lot of people leave their children in the car to take a buggy back at the store. Are we going to start getting arrested for that too. There have been times that my children have missed school and a social worker w/ cops have been at my door to warn me that I will be arrested if they miss anymore days. Parents are not allowed to raise their kids anymore and it is only hurting the children. Where does the line end?

- melwagner

Posted 03/13/08 02:20 PM

I worked for CPS and you guys have no clue what you’re talking about. I have never heard of ANYONE getting a bonus for removing a child from their home. And they ARE doing their jobs by investigating reported abuse. How do you think child abusers are found? They certainly don’t waltz into the CPS offices and say, “hey maybe you should take my child away because I burn him with lit cigarettes whenever he cries.” No - it all begins with an act that makes someone suspicious - CPS investigates by doing home studies and home searches. So you may see it a violation of human rights, but I see it as doing what it takes to protect a child. And FYI - the maximum case load for a social worker is 12. With budgets being slashed left and right, most social workers now handle 30-40 cases. And the average salary is less than what a manual laborer makes. So maybe you could give them a break before going on and on about how awful they are.

- April

Posted 03/13/08 02:20 PM

Per the Associated Press about 2 hours ago (from 11:50 a.m. PDT), the case has been dismissed! Simply unbelievable it took until the day of trial to reach such a common sense decision.

- Tim

Posted 03/13/08 02:48 PM

That’s awesome. I am happy for that mother. Hopefully she will learn a lesson from this whole horrible experience. Don’t leave your children in the car to run 10 feet and drop something off, because noisy people are always watching you.

- melwagner

Posted 03/13/08 03:05 PM

First and foremost, the officer did his job. The mother made an honest mistake, they’re are so many busy mother’s out there that they tend to make mistakes like these. This would still be considered “Unacceptable”..but surely she did not intentionly mean to leave the child for quite a long time. It just so happend to be the wrong time at the wrong place. I hope all charges are dropped.

- vlexi186

Posted 03/13/08 06:15 PM

- vlexi186

Posted 03/13/08 06:16 PM

What an overwhelming response to such a serious issue. I think it’s great we can all equally express our concerns and interest in this subject matter. Everyone has such valid points. I do have one more question regarding this issue. “Is there ever an age when it’s safe to leave your child in the car?” I was coming out of the post office 2 weeks ago (with my children), and noticed a mom walking to her mini-van with a baby carrier/carseat in tow. As she got closer to the van, I noticed a child inside. The child could not have been older than 8 or 9. I was in the post office for 10 or 15 minutes, and this mom was in line behind me. So, that boy was in the van for quite some time by himself. If he would have been a teenager, would it still have bothered me? What do you think?

- mojoprice

Posted 03/14/08 09:35 AM

It was good to see the case was dismissed. While I don’t believe she should have been charged with abuse, I do think she could have used better judgment. As to April’s comment that CPS workers do not get bonuses, she obviously does not know what happened in Kentucky. One county came under investigation because workers were falsifying information and taking children from homes for the purpose of receiving additional funding. Their practices were finally brought to light as they removed a child alleging abuse. The family fought the allegations and sued the department. During their suit the abuses of the system by workers of all levels in that county were found.

- Dee

Posted 03/14/08 09:22 PM

Dee - That case in Kentucky is awful. However, one case in one county does not a trend make. I have worked in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia and not once have I heard of getting a bonus for removing children from their homes.

- April

Posted 03/14/08 10:56 PM