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Disempowered Parents Charged
September 24, 2014 permalink
When a Missouri schoolboy threatened to bring a gun to school, his parents Robert Allen McGrane and Sarah Elizabeth McGrane were charged with felonies.
What would have happened if the parents had tried to stop the boy's threats by punishing his misbehavior? They most likely would have been punished themselves or lost their son. Parents are being penalized for actions over which they have no legal control.
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Child threatens violence, parents arrested
Investigators find unsanitary home environment, lack of healthcare
A child’s threats to bring a gun to school led to charges being filed against his parents for allegations of neglect and abuse.
Robert Allen McGrane, 27, of Desloge, has been charged with the Class C felony of abuse or neglect of a child. His bond was set at $15,000. Sarah Elizabeth McGrane, 27, has been charged with the Class C felony of endangering the welfare of a child. Her bond was also set at $15,000.
According to court records a social worker, a Children’s Division employee and members of the Desloge Police investigated after an elementary school-aged boy threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot and stab people.
The Children’s Division worker had previously met with the parents in what she deemed as an unproductive meeting. The child had been removed from a regular classroom setting for threats of violence.
“It was determined by members of the school and (the Children’s Division worker) that the child needed immediate medical attention due to the behavior he was displaying,” a probable cause statement reads. “(The child) was displaying extreme signs of mental illness and neither parents wanted to seek medical treatment for their child …”
When police talked to the child it was determined that the child also had signs of physical abuse.
Investigators searched the McGranes’ house and found that the home had bugs, no hot water, not enough beds, no working toilet and evidence of drug abuse.
When questioned, Robert McGrane admitted to investigators that he abused Percocets. He admitted causing injuries to the boy by physically lifting the boy up by the hips and placing him in a chair; striking the boy’s head on the arm chair. He said the child’s mother was present and witnessed it.
He said other sores were from a skin disorder. He admitted they failed to provide medical attention for the boy. He also admitted to having anger issues.
Source: Daily Journal Online, Park Hills Missouri
