17-Year-Old Babysitter Uses Studded Belt to Beat the Hell out of a 6-Year-Old

[Lizard]

A 17-year-old used a studded Superman belt to whip a 6-year old boy he was babysitting.

The little boy's mother Tracey Black says the young man has watched her son and daughter on several occasions without incident. However, Black says she knew something was wrong when she came home and her son was crying.

Black says her son told her he'd been beaten three separate times for not paying attention, breaking the teen's sunglasses, and throwing a ball in the house. She said she found red marks and indentions on the child’s body where he had been struck. She said the marks were so severe that she rushed the child to the hospital. Black said he will be okay but that he can’t lie on his back because of the injuries.

The babysitter, when asked by the mother if he’d left any marks on the boy, said, “No, I only hit him maybe four or five times.”

The boy also told his mother the baby sitter stripped him naked and wet his bottom before beating him.

Police say the babysitter has a prior record; he's been charged with felony child abuse.

http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_st...vid_1356.shtml
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15712452/detail.html

[Unamused Cat]

I guess they aren't releasing his name yet. The bastard, I would like to beat him with a studded two by four.

[Jaded]

Only maybe 4 or 5 times??
Stripped him naked and wet his bottom.....that's a new one.
I guess mom should have gotten references.

[Mom of 4]

I guess they aren't releasing his name yet. The bastard, I would like to beat him with a studded two by four.

OMG that poor little guy! Had that been my child it would have been my mug shot that hit the news because I would have kicked the shit out of that kid when I saw the marks. I hope that little bastard never has his own kids ever!

[Angel]

Police say the babysitter has a prior record; he's been charged with felony child abuse.

http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_st...vid_1356.shtml
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15712452/detail.html

Okay, maybe I'm not quite with the program, but can somebody tell me why in the FUCK you would let a juvenile who already has a record and has been charged with felony abuse of ANYTHING, babysit your kid?!?! Is this another case of cranio-rectal inversion, or am I not quite on the same page as everyone else? It is kinda late, here.....

[nurseronda]

I think that it is time to use the studded belt on the babysitter now for not taking good care of those children, I think he needs to learn a lesson the hard way like he did to the poor little child!

[Lizard]

Okay, maybe I'm not quite with the program, but can somebody tell me why in the FUCK you would let a juvenile who already has a record and has been charged with felony abuse of ANYTHING, babysit your kid?!?!

As far as I can tell from the news stories I've read, Mom didn't know about the record.

[Angel]

As far as I can tell from the news stories I've read, Mom didn't know about the record.

WHY NOT?!?! It's her job to know these things, right? Or to find them out before leaving her kids with someone?

[Angel]

I think that it is time to use the studded belt on the babysitter now for not taking good care of those children, I think he needs to learn a lesson the hard way like he did to the poor little child!

We won't have to worry about wetting his ass first, though, because I bet when he sees someone coming toward him with that studded belt, he'll piss his pants and save us the trouble. Let the beatings commence!

[Lizard]

WHY NOT?!?! It's her job to know these things, right? Or to find them out before leaving her kids with someone?

I'm not going to try to defend Mom, I'm just going to think "out loud" for a minute. So, she's had this teen watch her kids before with no ill results, so that's (I suppose) a point in his favor...at least in the sense of "My kids were happy and healthy every time I've returned." Maybe someone else recommended him. Him being 17, chances are, criminal records of anything he'd done before would be sealed, and if she's a young mom, an uneducated mom, would she know where to go and what to do to find out about his history? I'm not a mom, but I'm neither young nor uneducated, and I'm not certain what I could find out about a certain babysitter, other than what I can glean from the Internet. And I think of my sister, who went through so many struggles trying to raise her daughter alone (she did a great job)--who would she rely on to care for my niece when she had to go to work to bring in the small family's only income (which also was small)? Say you know a young man, he seems nice, he's clean and well-spoken, and maybe an acquaintance has vouched for him, and you leave your child with him for an hour, and everything is fine. I guess the long and short of it is that I don't want to "convict" this mom with more evidence...but I did find it strange that she asked him, "Did you leave any marks on him?"

[Jaded]

Sorry, maybe I'm old fashioned or something....but I can't say that I would ever feel comfortable leaving my children with a teen-aged boy. I know, I know...leaving them with a teen-aged girl could have had the same results. And while I'm sure there are plenty of responsible teen-aged boys that babysit, I just find something 'off' about it.

[Angel]

Lizard, I understand the points you made, and even agree with some of them. And I guess not all parents are as hypervigilant (read: paranooid), as I am about my babies. I don't leave my kids with people on a recommendation. If I haven't known someone for at least three years, and spent a significant amount of time around them, and their children (if they have any), or my children (if they don't have any of their own); my kids will not be left there. Period. For any reason.

A few years ago, I had to take one of my kids to the emergency room at 8:30 PM on a weeknight, because she had fallen in the tub (while horsing around, which she had been forbidden to do in the bath), and cut a 4cm gash in her chin. I had (at the time) a 14 year old, a 10 year old, a three year old, and a two year old. The two year old was the one who had cut her chin. I couldn't reach either of the two people who lived near me who I trusted with my children, and my husband wasn't home from work yet. I was in the process of loading ALL of them in the truck for the 45 minute ride to the nearest hospital, when my 14 year old pointed out the obvious - that my husband would probably be home within 20 minutes, and she was perfectly capable of watching the three year old until he arrived. I took my 10 year old with me to keep the baby calm, and keep pressure on the wound, and went on to the hospital.

I realize this woman probably did not have the same options that I had in that situation, but I was prepared to take them ALL with me if necessary. I have even been known to take my baby to work with me when my sitter was unavailable, or call in, if bringing the child was a problem. I'd rather lose my job, than my child. I could always find another job, even if it was only slinging burgers; but my children are irreplaceable. As I said, I know that I am dangerously close to the brink of paranoia in this matter (some of my friends say I jumped over that cliff years ago), but I am terrified that if I don't do everything I can to safeguard them, I might one day have to bury one of them due to a shortcoming on my part. And I wouldn't be able to live with that. They are the only thing, I feel, that I have really done 'right' in my life, and I am not willing to jeopardize their safety for anything. That level of (control? anxiety?) probably qualifies me as insane, or at least OCD, but I don't care. You can call me anything you like, as long as you are not calling me to a morgue.
end rant:ange:

[bogustoo]

WHY NOT?!?! It's her job to know these things, right? Or to find them out before leaving her kids with someone?

Angel, yes it is the mom's responsibility to find out. But remember - the beater was a juvenile. Damned near impossible to find out that he has a record unless he tells someone.

I am definitely interested to find out what his prior record consisted of.

[Mom of 4]

Sorry, maybe I'm old fashioned or something....but I can't say that I would ever feel comfortable leaving my children with a teen-aged boy. I know, I know...leaving them with a teen-aged girl could have had the same results. And while I'm sure there are plenty of responsible teen-aged boys that babysit, I just find something 'off' about it.

I have been thinking about your post since I read it last night. I don't think you are old fashioned So Jaded. Before I even read your post I had the same thought about teenage boys vs teenage girls as babysitters. Now I myself have 4 teenagers; 2 girls and 2 boys and I also work with troubled kids for a living.

We all know that girls mature faster than boys both physically and mentally. I never ever had a teenage boy babysit my kids. My personal reasoning was born from an incident when I was 10 and my mom hired my best friends brother who was 17 at the time to watch me one evening. Long story short......he came out of the bathroom with his dick out and told me to suck it! Lucky for me my bedroom window was open and I screamed bloody murder and my cousin was outside in the lovely townhouse complex we lived in playing basketball with his buddies. He came running into our house and bolted up the stairs where he found the idiot with his dick out and me standing on my bed with a pair of scissors cursing like a trucker! He beat the living crap out of the kid.....and thats the last time my newly single mom hired a boy to babysit me!

Although I feel very confident that both my boys would make good babysitters because they have many younger cousins they have watched grow up, the truth is neither of my boys is interested in babysitting. Maybe it's sexist, i don't know but my girls enjoy babysitting and reading stories, watching movies, playing games etc. with little ones. It really isn't the norm where we live for boys to babysit. Not saying boys should never babysit of course but it is what it is.

[Lizard]

Angel, it's a weakness of mine, trying to "rationally" work through how Person A might have gotten to Point X, AND I tend to want to give people the benefit of the doubt. Of course, how often are people rational in what they do, and I sure got burned by trying to give Morbidly Obese Relative the benefit of the doubt, since she beat her nephew to death. One thing that's clear is that there is NO category of people who can unfailingly be trusted with the care of a child--parents, grandparents, siblings, neighbors, teachers, doctors, clergy, day care providers, babysitters, and on and on--but yeah, I think "teenage boys" would be pretty low on my preferred sitter list when it comes to categories of people. All right, I don't even know where I'm going with this, so I'm going to end this post here and maybe come back to it later.

[maryhaze]

while i wouldn't leave my kids alone with him, i was really glad the day my kind of foster son was outside watching my kids. they saw a coyote running thru the woods carrying a deer leg (i didn't see it so i don't really know what part it was). my little rocket scientists wanted to follow the coyote! my foster told them to get their dumb little asses up to the house where i gave them the "wild animals are not pets" lecture, yet again. i wouldn't leave them alone because there is soooo much other shit going on at all times, that i don't think it's fair to leave him with that responsibility. i'd feel the same about any teenager & most of the adults i know. besides, it's safer for everyone if i just stay home.:D i guess unless something else comes to light, i don't blame the mom but i'd love to get in on the blanket party for this asshole.

[Heather4877]

Sorry, maybe I'm old fashioned or something....but I can't say that I would ever feel comfortable leaving my children with a teen-aged boy. I know, I know...leaving them with a teen-aged girl could have had the same results. And while I'm sure there are plenty of responsible teen-aged boys that babysit, I just find something 'off' about it.

My FAVORITE babysitter was a boy. I was about 8 or 9 and he was maybe 16. He'd pick me up after school and take me with him to football practice. He'd put me up on his shoulders on the way there and give me a front row seat to make sure he could see me during the practice. He also took me to Brownies and helped the leaders with the arts and crafts that they did with us (I hated Brownies so I might be glossing over that part). He was the only babysitter that jumpted on the bed with me (of course we made sure it was my brother's bed so any damage would be blamed on him...yes not the most responsible babysitter maybe...) Anyway, he was awesome, but I think that even at 8 years old I was weirded out the first time that he came to babysit. I only wish I could find such a babysitter for my own kids. I've thought about him briefly over the years and I bet he made a great father.

[PawleysGirl]

I totally agree! I would never dream of leaving a 17 year old male in charge of my children!! The article states she has a daughter also? What was she thinking????

[HeatherHabilatory]

I had a male babysitter when I was little and he was awesome. He let me watch MTV with him.

I see nothing wrong with boys babysitting. Might just be me, though.

[carolinablue]

My now 27 year old son babysat from the time he turned 14 till he left home. He was in great demand because he genuinely likes babies and kids; he has an uncanny ability to amuse, entertain and keep kids busy with nondestructive activities. He would take the little boys "bear hunting" in our wood lot and play pitch and catch for hours without complaint; he would sit patiently letting little girls put barrettes in his hair. He wouldn't just sit them in front of the tv and go off to do something else; he did let them climb trees and have water fights though. He is going to be a wonderful dad!

[sorrow_discord]

Old topic, but also had to post.

One of my babysitters growing up was a teenage boy. He taught me to skateboard. lol He was pretty cool, would read books with me, take me outside to ride bikes, and he play for hours on end with Star Wars action figures with me!

[Marv]

Teenage girls are not necessarily safer than teen boys. Teen girls usually have teen boyfriends. A sweet little sitting job, away from the prying eyes at home, and knowing what time(ish) you will be back...........

I'm lucky in that I've never been short of sitters when needed. My sister lives just down the road and I totally trust her with my kids, as she does me with hers. It must be tough when you don't have that support network, and family members you can trust. All you can do is take recommendations and check as much as you possibly can into the person you are entrusting your children to.

After all, we've seen on here time and again how even some family members have betrayed that trust and beat the kids, sometimes fatally.

I know one thing though, I would have beat that fucking 17yr old shithead to within an inch of his worthless life if he had laid even a finger on my child, never mind to the extent of leaving those terrible marks!

[Obsolete]

Okay, maybe I'm not quite with the program, but can somebody tell me why in the FUCK you would let a juvenile who already has a record and has been charged with felony abuse of ANYTHING, babysit your kid?!?! Is this another case of cranio-rectal inversion, or am I not quite on the same page as everyone else? It is kinda late, here.....

I know the comment I'm quoting is really old but I wanted to point out that the felony abuse charge was for this assault, not a prior assault. The prior record he had could have been from anything...shoplifting, being out after curfew, fighting at school, etc.