Bobby Jones And His Son Got Burned
Update 6-20-08: Charges Dropped. More info at end of article
BEREA, Ky. - Bobby Jones, 27, was with is two-year-old son in front of the trailer they lived in last Sunday. It was a hot, sunny day and Bobby let his sun play in the yard with no shirt on for about an hour and a half. The problem is that this Jones didn’t put any sunscreen on the kid and the toddler ended up getting 1st and 2nd degree burns that include some nasty blisters. When the mother picked him up, she alerted police. Now, Bobby Jones is in jail, charged with criminal abuse and served with an emergency protection order keeping him from seeing his son for 14 days.
This one kinda has me a bit pissed off. Here is a guy who *gasp* was playing with his kid on a sunny day. He, like a lot of people, just didn’t realize how damaging the direct sunlight can be on small child. Hell, I have gotten sunburned myself on multiple occasions by accident and have been to the beach a few times where kids were in the sun to long and got blisters from doing so. Hell, who has not had a killer sunburn at least once in your lifetime? We report on cases where mothers FORGET their kids and let them bake in cars like a Christmas ham only to have no charges filed, but this guy gets thrown in jail and cannot see his kid because he didn’t use some fucking sunscreen?!?!
Throwing this guy in jail for this just seems absolutely ridiculous and smacks of issues between the mother and the father. Hell, even the neighbor reported seeing them outside playing and she didn’t think nothing of it and even called him an attentive dad. Unless some information comes to light that states that he had the toddler chained in the yard, or there have been past cases of abuse, I feel as this is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction brought on by a mother looking to put the screws to this guy.
I’m not downplaying this kids injuries. I am sure it hurts like hell. But I swear to God, I firmly believe that had the genders been reversed in this case, you never would have heard anything about it as everyone would have went their separate ways, the kid would have gotten a shitload of aloe vera lotion slathered all over him and the next time he went into the sun, he would have so much sunscreen on him, he would look like Casper the Friendly Goddamn Ghost.
I will be keeping a close eye on this case.
Update:
The charges against Bobby Jones have been dropped. Madison County DA told reporters, “It was quite apparent from looking at the facts of this case, the detectives were very concerned about the safety and well being of this child and the actions they took at that particular time had to be made in a quick manner.”
Bobby Jone’s Public Defender stated, “Bobby’s main concern was Elijah. He is anxious to be a part of his life and just try to be a good parent and learn from this experience. Just try to be the best father that he can be.”
I have to agree with you. My son just got back from my sisters house. She has a pool. I sent sunblock with him and insisted he wear a shirt too. HE STILL GOT BURNED! Not too bad, but his face was pink and his forearms. Hell he got burned in Florida, (IN THE SHADE)! Seems the uva rays reflected from the water.
Yea this sounds more like an EX trying to make a point and keep the child away from Dad or just trying to “get back” for whatever reason. why is it these women can never be Happy that the father is even interested in the child?? I know many a child would LOVE to have a Dad that was there to spend time with even if they got a sun burn
Hell I had a burn like that when i was young my whole back was really bad i went to emergency room and everything but they never told me that meant i was Abused
Hell now I know why i became the wild teen ager i was everyone kept saying i must have been abused and now i see they are right after all these years because i had a sunburn that burned the crap out of me once.
All these years of therapy finally this case helps me find the key.
NOT
What a crock and waste of court time and expenses.
I too feel sorry for shorty but come on this is a bit much
Stupid mistake? Yes. Criminal? No, I don’t think so. We’ve all done this a time or two. First time I’ve ever hear of someone being charged with it. Your right Morbid, sounds like a vengeful ex. I wonder how she got the cops to press charges. Maybe knows someone in the department?
If I was Bobby Jones, I would be sitting in my cell completely perplexed and just not believing any of what was happening actually was happening. I would probably start smearing my feces on the wall in an attempt to write out lyrics from Prince’s Purple Rain, just to try and wake from an obvious dream I was having.
Maybe not. I tried that once when I was in the drunk tank at Myrtle Beach. I just ended up getting my ass kicked, more charges filed and my hand stunk for weeks. So maybe I would just sit there perplexed and pinch myself or something entirely less dookie-ish.
WHAT A CUP OF SHIT!!! I want to know what dumbass judge signed such a protective order? Hell, we got kids, all the time, in which DFS, DCFS, whatever, have made multiple visits and have had multiple reports, but the children are still LEFT in the home under much less than ideal instances and without minimum needs being met. Where’s this judge then, when a kid really needs him/her? WTH?
I agree 130% Morbid, with all of it. Mom wanting to screw dad. If it had been a reversed situation, no charges. Who actually allowed these charges to be filed for a real court hearing? Its a flipping sunburn!!
What a bitch mom!! Doesn’t she think keeping her son away from a loving father will hurt him much worse than a sunburn? Oh, wait, what was I thinking? That would mean she was putting the child’s welfare and needs above her own agenda. Silly ole pooh, I know better than that. *rolls eyes and heavy sigh*
You said “dookie.” Heh heh heh.
lol @ morbid.
As I was reading this my first thought was “Poor baby. It must be so painful for him.” Second thought… “The mom finally got her revenge”. Yes I feel for the baby but aside from that if things had been fine at home this whole situation wouldn’t have happened. Well, the jail part and the protective order. Unless he was slapping the little boy on the back it seems like he just forgot to put sunscreen on the baby. It doesn’t seem like he did it intentionally. If my husband did the same thing I would be livid but I wouldn’t call the cops on him.
This story just makes me sick. With all of the millions of true abuse cases, where nothing is done. Seriously… This just sucks on so many levels.
Not that sunburn isn’t painful, I’m sure the child is in pain, but unless the father was holding a magnifying glass between the sun and the child, like one does with a leaf, to get it to catch on fire… yeah, this is pure bullshit! The mother obviously doesn’t know how painful it is for a child to be without a father figure. *sigh* God help us all if we start going to jail if our kids get too much sun…
I can’t say a word about this case. My kid is peeling right now because I used a 30 instead of the 50+ sunblock he needed on the beach, and he’s olive skinned to begin with.
My pale white redhead self got BAKED, and both my teenage sister and my eleven year old niece turned crispy due to boychasing at the water park and missing their sunblock appointments. I’m peeling as I type. And guess what? My spawn is heading out to the pool with his friends right NOW.
From the sound of all that, I should be in jail.
my daughter once was taken to a ball game at like 6months and the person that took her didn’t use sunscreen…she had 3rd degree burns on her face with life long scarring….she’s fifteen now and fine….but what chaps my hide is that he’s sitting in jail while some lady with a gun in her purse neglangently allowed her granddaughter to shoot herself…..just plum crazy!!!
No way does this guy deserve jail! Unless there is other shit going on that’s not been disclosed. based on info. he probably didn’t think anything of it, my mom never remembers the sunscreen on my boys, I have to remind her. She’s of the lets put baby oil on and bake mentality.
I put 70 SPF on my lil one 3 times while out at the water for 3 hours, he still got a little burnt.
Careful, you just might wind up there. I just can’t get over this stupid shit. I mean, DAMN!!! We have kids that NEED so much to be removed from their parents, but NO, HELL NO, its family reunification in their cases. I’m getting madder by the minute and yes that could mean more INSANE. DAMN DAMN AND DOUBLE DAMN how ridiculous!!!!
y’know, i gotta admit those burns look pretty heinous. BUT.
When elder spawn was just a tadpole, she went for a long ride in her biodad’s convertible truck (i am not making this up) on a visit. Sans sunscreen. She was blistered by the time he got her to his parents’ house, and their first response was to tell his new wife not to tell me.
Yeah, I’d have been pissed. I was pissed, when I found out later. But that wasn’t jailworthy. Knock him in the head and call him an idiot, sure. But jail? For that? No.
I bet that kid wears a 70 sunblock during every visit with his dad EVER from now on.
I know what you’re saying!! Remember all the Coppertone commercials? It wasn’t about sun block! It was about how much sun could you get? A lot of grandparents and even parents, don’t realize how this has changed since the 70’s and 80’s, when everyone wanted to be as brown as a “gingerbread man” and took measures to ensure they got as much sun as possible.
Did the dad make an honest parent mistake? Yes! Haven’t all parents made some type of mistakes like that at one time or another? Yes! Did he commit abuse? NO WAY IN HELL! This is one that can be called a “mistake” and it truly be a mistake.
If I were the cop this bitch had been crying to over this sunburn, I would have laughed her right out of the department. I may not have had a job the next day, but her old man would not have been arrested at my hands. And what about the judge who signed the protective order? Was this woman giving them a little “something” on the side? I can’t imagine any judge, that’s worth his/her salt, keeping a child away from its dad because he let the child get sunburned - ONCE. Talk about whacked!!!!
Morbid was that you i seen on the episode of JAIL that umm redecorated the cell and himself in “La dookie de larente”?
LOL Sorry but that was all i could think of when reading your post.
In regards to what type of thinking this judge was using granting this order All i can think about is how many cases where the Judge denies a order of protection and the woman or man ends up horribly scared or beaten or dead. yet this judge grants this one That irks me to no end.
We had a woman denied a protection of order in MD a while back whose ex then went and set her on fire at her job thank heavens she lived though scared for life but the fact that these people sit and make these choices with so little thought Irks me
WHY? It was a flippin’ sunburn. Did they think you wouldn’t see it? Didn’t they think you might need to keep aloe vera or some other type of lotion on it until it healed?
Not telling you and not having you treat the child, is a much worse offense than allowing the sunburn to happen in the first place. WTH? That is where I would lose it. Ok my kid got sun burnt while playing, riding, enjoying anything outdoors - don’t hide it, let me treat it and it’ll be alright.
Ya know, its only a sunburn? Unless, like Morbid said, he had the kid chained up outside to where he couldn’t get in out of the sun. And I don’t see that.
Hey, the neighbor had better watch out, she witnessed this abuse and didn’t report it - that crazy bitch just may have her charged, too. She’s evidently got some strings to pull for the dad to be charged.
What? chained to the couch is not enough?
R
Some people, its always more, more, more!
I agree 100% ridiculous!
Nice to see ya, R.
And you know how I get. Heh.
This is not criminal.
No not criminal, just stupid. A simple slap upside the head would have sufficed.
Mommy got mad and thought it would be very nice to get the police involved. Good luck, kid, the relationship between your parents is going to be the blight of your life.
Weird…just last week helping in my kids field day was a warm, sunny day. I couldn’t find my hat but figured, “aw, it’s not that hot-I’ll just make sure I get in the shade once in a while”…..needless to say, at the end of the day my pumpkinhead (yes, I could be the human incarnation of Charlie Brown)was red as a beet! Of course followed by 2 weeks of people reminding me how important sunblock and hats are!
I don’t think this guy perposely tried to harm his kid, he’s just a dumb-ass like me! D’OH!!!!!
I have a friend whose kids get a nasty burn every damn summer because the stupid bitch is too lazy to use sunscreen or too cheap to buy it. She always has an excuse, too, like it was expired and or she only out it on once that day. They get blisters on their shoulders and, having had a 2nd degree sunburn a couple summers ago when I worked as a laborer, I know that that shit hurts right to your muscles. She has even taken them to the doc for it several times and no one has called anyone on her ass.
That being said, this does strike me as a case of a mom angry with a dad for something that has nothing to do with the kid. It wasn’t like dad was drinking beer in the sun all day and totally neglected the kid; this kind of thing happens to all of us from time to time. Yeah, let’s arrest an otherwise good father because he forget to slap some Banana Boat on his kid while the guy up the road is probably using his as a punching bag. Oh, and if mom is THAT psycho to call the cops instead of just chewing dad out, imagine what kind of crazy shit she must say about him in front of the kid. But that doesn’t leave blisters or bruises so no one pays attention.
what bites my ass is, at least this little boy had a daddy that was PLAYING with him outside having fun, not beating or neglecting him, at least DAD HAD his boy with him paying him attention, my god hang the mother and the freakin judge!!!!!!
While I can see that this sunburn is one of the extreme cases of sunburn, I do have to agree with the rest of you. With all the other fucked up birthing machines and sperm donors out there who beat, kill, neglect, starve, and otherwise torture their children…. and nothing is fucking done about it… the rest of the world is too busy dealing with cases like this.
Yeah, we all forget the sunblock at times… we forget to put it on, and apply, and reapply, and reapply. We forget that kind of shit all the time for ourselves, and even yes *gasp* our spawn. We misjudge the weather, the suns intensity, the ability to burn…. and hell how many of us have actually SEEN 2nd degree sunburns? Seriously. Some people don’t know it even can happen!
While the mother was obviously attentive, she over reacted. The judge needs a pie in the face, and I want pictures of Morbid in the cell rubbing shit all over the walls.
Dunderheaded? Yes. Criminal? No.
Why, when *I* was a kid, we used to walk 2 miles to school each way…uphill….in a snowstorm. Oh, wait, that’s not it. Ahem.
Why, when *I* was a kid, we lived at the beach, I am a very fair-skinned redhead, and sunscreen didn’t exist, as far as I know. We had things like Hawaiian Tropic oil to make you bake faster. When I was very young, my mother always dogged me all over the beach trying to get me to put on a t-shirt. Sometimes she caught me, sometimes she didn’t. When she didn’t, I burned. And I mean *B*U*R*N*E*D* Bad burn all over, but blisters all over my shoulders since they were the most directly hit. Let’s just say it happened on more than one occasion.
So, now, knowing what we know, and having sunscreen widely available, any asshat should know to slather an 18 month old. But what this particular asshat needs is a slap upside the head to remind him, rather than jail time or a restraining order.
Sheesh.
I live in a city tabbed as the “sun city” we get about 350 days of sun a year. It’s a desert city… really no trees and hardly ever any clouds. I’ve never had sun burn. Then again… I am latina…and I just get darker. I didn’t start wearing sunblock till i was 19 because i hate how it feels. i am amazed someone can burn so easily. i don’t however think this is reason to charge anyone, it’s not like he locked his kid outside and watched him from a nice air conditioned house while sipping on some sweet tea. I hope this case gets dismissed. I also am thankful of not having a light complexion…I suppose those tend to burn more often than others.
Why on gods earth do some people think that kids are a pawn in some weird, twisted game?
hahahhahahahahahahah goddammit, Morbid, coffee come out my fucking nose on that one. Brother, you are highly hilarious.
When I was about 4, my very loving mother tied a sundress on my little body and let me run around in the front yard while she weeded or whatever. I don’t know if I was wearing sun block or not (it was ‘85, not sure how clear the info was back then), but I grew a FATTY blister on my right shoulder (smaller blisters on the left). Seriously, it was like an inch wide and half an inch tall (a big blister for a little girl).
I distinctly remember recoiling in horror at the sight of the blister, but being compelled to look at it more. To do so, I convinced myself that the good witch Glenda was living in my blister. It made me less grossed out to look at it. I was a strange youngin’.
Long story short - I’ve got no scars, I didn’t hate my parents, and they didn’t go to jail for it.
I’m all for limiting the damage done to children. But, like the dude who was charged for accidentally buying his kid some Mike’s Hard, I think we should focus on criminal stupidity and intent to injure.
What’s kind of silly about all this is there are little kids who have drowned in pools whose parents have never been charged.
Praise be. Some common sense, finally. Thanks for the update.
I’m glad this family (with an involved dad) isn’t going to be torn apart over a bad sunburn and some bad judgment. This is one of the very few cases on DD where I can say “someone made a mistake. let’s get on with life.”
Good. I’m glad to hear this. I also hope they can some how get that restraining order off his record. Thank You Mr. DA.
It was stupid not to put sunscreen on the kid (honestly, that is a worse burn than I ever had, and I had some bad ones)…and it’s hard to imagine he got it that bad in an hour and a 1/2, but criminal charges? No. The mom just wasted the taxpayers’ money on this one.
I was happy to see this update. I bet the burns are well on their way to being healed, thank goodness. Hopefully the emotional damage brought on by a mom wanting to get even won’t take long to heal either.
I hope this dad gets MORE rights with his son. And I am willing to bet next time he plays outside with him, he will be damn certain to keep the babe’s skin protected!
Glad to see a story end well… Those charges were *shit*.