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Photos On MySpace Prompts Judge To Ask For Probe

Last Update: 4/30 11:27 pm


Slideshow Reported by: Tom McKee
Photographed by: Ron Fischer
Web produced by: Neil Relyea


Investigators from the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services are checking a Sayler Park home to see if two girls living there are being adequately supervised by their mother.

The probe was requested by Hamilton County Muncipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard after he was presented pictures Monday by the girls' father which had been posted on 'My Space' showing them allegedly drinking alcohol.

The identifies of both parents, who are separated, are not being disclosed to protect the girls, aged 12-years-old and 16-years-old.

"The picture that I saw is worth a thousand words – and some criminal charges in my opinion," said Judge Bouchard.

The image shows the 12-year-old girl holding a can of beer up to her mouth.

Another photo depicts the 16-year-old with a liquor bottle in her hands.

The mother of both girls says nothing improper was going on and that the girls were just showing off.

"My 12-year-old, she had a can of beer," said the woman. "It was closed. My 16-year-old, she had an empty bottle from my 36th birthday party."

The woman said the girls put the photos on their "MySpace" account and were asked to take them down when she found out about it.

"To me, it was no big deal," she said. "I knew the can wasn't open. I knew the bottle was empty."

Judge Bouchard didn't see it that way.

"Clearly, nobody was looking out for the best interest of the child, so I felt it was my duty to contact authorities," the judge.

He wrote letters to both Hamilton County Job and Family Services and the Cincinnati Police.

JFS investigators could go as far as removing the children from the home, developing a case plan or ordering counseling.

Police could bring charges of child endangering.

The mother said she welcomes anyone who wants to investigate the case.

"241-KIDS, Judge Brouchard, District Three. Anyone can come down here," she said.

"You can come down here and sit in my house and speak to my children," she said. "And I'll leave when you do it."

The issue surfaced Monday when the girls' father appeared before Judge Bouchard on a charge of violating a temporary protective order.

The father pled no contest, was found guilty by the judge and placed on probation for six-months.

The charge was the result of text messages and phone calls he made to his wife.

The mother says the pictures were an excuse for contacting her.

"These pictures have been gone off the Internet and out of my computer way before he broke the restraining order," she said.

And, she accused her husband of threatening to show the judge the photos if she continued to pursue the restraining order case.

The father currently lives in Amberley Village with his parents.

9News knocked on the door, but no one answered.

The father is represented by attorney Don Weber, who didn't return several calls seeking comment.

Judge Bouchard says he's amazed at what's on "My Space" in general – and more specifically – this case.

"It's clearly another case of people acting without thinking of the consequences," the judge said.

"For this to be going on in the first place is wrong, and then putting it out there for the whole world to see is crazy," the judge added.

The mother had a ready reply for her daughters' actions.

"They thought it was funny and that it was cool," she said.

"I found out about it and said take those pictures off here," she told 9News. "You don't need stuff like that on here."

"They're kids," she added. "I'd rather them be doing stupid stuff like that, than roaming the streets getting into trouble."


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