Post: #1

I read it in a German newspaper, here is the english version:
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ss...reste.html

Quote:A Texas man was acquitted by a jury Tuesday after he had been arrested for taking away his daughter's cell phone as a punishment.

The ordeal started in September 2013. Ronald Jackson, 36, of Grand Prairie, Texas, found what he considered an inappropriate text on his 12-year-old daughter's cell phone, so he confiscated it, reports WFAA.com.

Just hours later, police arrived at his home, asking him to return the cell phone, an iPhone 4. Jackson refused.

"At that point, I decided the police don't interfere with my ability to parent my daughter," Jackson tells WFAA.

The mother of Jackson's daughter, Michelle Steppe, said she called police because she paid the bill for the phone and considered it her property. Steppe and Jackson were once a couple but never married.

Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty of theft of property of at least $50 but under $500, a Class B misdemeanor. Green said the prosecution did not present enough evidence to proceed with the case.

In the German version they also mention that one police officer is the new lover of the mother and his ex. Furthermore they mention the dad did take away the phone because his daughter was sending insulting messages.

I consider this very strange.

Post: #2

That's it. If I can't parent my kids they way I see fit here in the US, I'm not having kids within the US. Fuck this shit.

I know he got acquitted, but he should have never been arrested, nor even visited by the police, in the first place.

Post: #3

I read an article about this case this morning - stating the father has lost his relationship with his daughter as a result of this. Probably for the best

Post: #4

I was ready to be outraged upon reading the headline but this is something that sounds worse than it is. The grounds for the arrest was a property dispute between 2 adults rather than state interference in parenting style.

Post: #5

(01-29-2016 07:09 AM)Fast Eddie Wrote:  I was ready to be outraged upon reading the headline but this is something that sounds worse than it is. The grounds for the arrest was a property dispute between 2 adults rather than state interference in parenting style.

Completely disagree with you there. Parents are supposed to set clear rules and work together on discipline as well as rewarding kids. This mother clearly is pissed off at the father for something so she took it out on him. She could just as easily asked why the phone was taken instead of taking her 12 year old daughter's side of the story "Dad was being mean and took my phone."

Even if she disagreed all she had to do was ask for the phone back. I'm sure he would have given it back to the mother. The girl was going to get the phone back next time the father saw her anyway. He wasn't going to sell it.No need to involve the police on something so minor and actual good parenting.

Post: #6

(01-29-2016 07:20 AM)realologist Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:09 AM)Fast Eddie Wrote:  I was ready to be outraged upon reading the headline but this is something that sounds worse than it is. The grounds for the arrest was a property dispute between 2 adults rather than state interference in parenting style.

Completely disagree with you there. Parents are supposed to set clear rules and work together on discipline as well as rewarding kids. This mother clearly is pissed off at the father for something so she took it out on him. She could just as easily asked why the phone was taken instead of taking her 12 year old daughter's side of the story "Dad was being mean and took my phone."

Even if she disagreed all she had to do was ask for the phone back. I'm sure he would have given it back to the mother. The girl was going to get the phone back next time the father saw her anyway. He wasn't going to sell it.No need to involve the police on something so minor and actual good parenting.

Well yes, I am not disputing that there is massive intra familial dysfunction going on here, but that in itself is hardly news worthy. The only angle that could possibly have made this a story worthy of reporting is a "government" interference in parenting angle, and there doesn't seem to be one here. Police got called in for a property dispute and made an arrest based on said property dispute.

All I'm saying is, people who read this and went "hell nah, no way the government is going to tell me when I can and cannot take my kids' cell phone" can relax a little bit, as that is not what happened here.

Post: #7

I read about this the other day and listened to some audio clips of the dad. It wasn't government issue.

My only thought was the legal fees. If I recall correctly he spent a few grand on a lawyer. I'm curious if he got the wife to pay the legal fees.

The daughter will eventually realize her dad was the responsible parent and come back. It might take decades, but she'll realize it.

Post: #8

(01-29-2016 09:21 AM)heavy Wrote:  The daughter will eventually realize her dad was the responsible parent and come back. It might take decades, but she'll realize it.

Let's say I was the father who missed out on decades of being a part of her life because she threw a little snit about a stupid phone, and she later came back at a ripe age of 37 saying "Dad, you were right."

I would be in my seventies by that time. I might feel a fleeting moment of vindication, but I couldn't help feeling cheated out of a rewarding parenthood.

An admission from a grown up later in life cannot bring back 25 years of feeling like a failure at a parent, rage towards the ex for taking your kid away from you the first chance she got, and a deep sense of loss when looking at a person, your daughter, you hardly know anymore.

And the government allows this? There has never been a time when the government is more anti-family than today.

Post: #9

First of all, this is the classic case of police abuse. This should have never resulted in an arrest, and the cops should have never even came to talk to the Dad. What an absurd waste of state resources. Claims of stolen property under $500 can easily be resolved in small claims court.

In States where there is low-crime, generally police have nothing better to do than chase down law-abiding citizens over trivial matters. It is a real problem and it is super annoying.

That said,

(01-29-2016 06:18 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  That's it. If I can't parent my kids they way I see fit here in the US, I'm not having kids within the US. Fuck this shit.

I know he got acquitted, but he should have never been arrested, nor even visited by the police, in the first place.

The outcome of the case was positive. The judges threw the case out of court because they knew it was bullshit, from top to bottom.

In all fairness, we must admit the system worked properly and protected the rights of the father.

The father, if he had more money, should have gotten a lawyer and sued the police for abuse. This would teach the police not to be faggots and it would help out the general community against these types of abuses. That would have been the best outcome.

Regardless, in any world, there will always be governmental abuses and it is up to citizens to defend themselves against it. Don't just throw in the towel because things aren't perfect from the get-go. It takes a fighting spirit to fix things. Look to the example of Trump for instruction.

Post: #10

Pro tip. Do not get your daughter a phone. Hold out as long as possible. Make every excuse in the book. Elementary school kids with I phones is insane.

Post: #11

The problem here is that the phone DID belong to the mother...and he refused to give it back.

What if it was a car? Or a house? Or a precious diamond necklace? I know they are extreme examples but the point still holds.


What a shitty position for a father to find himself in, though.

Post: #12

(01-29-2016 10:09 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  An admission from a grown up later in life cannot bring back 25 years of feeling like a failure at a parent, rage towards the ex for taking your kid away from you the first chance she got, and a deep sense of loss when looking at a person, your daughter, you hardly know anymore.

And the government allows this? There has never been a time when the government is more anti-family than today.

Not true, they are bringing refugee families together every day.
Pardon the thread jack.

Post: #13

Learn how to vet your women. This broad should never have been allowed to be a mother.

Post: #14

In the German article I read it was mention that one of the police officers is now the new lover of the women. So the ex went direct to her new guy at the police to push some buttons. That's how things start to roll I guess.

Post: #15

(01-29-2016 11:37 AM)Parzival Wrote:  In the German article I read it was mention that one of the police officers is now the new lover of the women. So the ex went direct to her new guy at the police to push some buttons. That's how things start to roll I guess.

Sets the police department up for a lawsuit. My first step would be to have him suspended.

Police officers shouldn't be willing to break the law with a wrongful arrest because their girlfriend told them to.

If this guy gets a decent attorney, he could have a nice payday.

Post: #16

(01-29-2016 06:04 AM)Parzival Wrote:  I read it in a German newspaper, here is the english version:
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ss...reste.html

Quote:A Texas man was acquitted by a jury Tuesday after he had been arrested for taking away his daughter's cell phone as a punishment.

The ordeal started in September 2013. Ronald Jackson, 36, of Grand Prairie, Texas, found what he considered an inappropriate text on his 12-year-old daughter's cell phone, so he confiscated it, reports WFAA.com.

Just hours later, police arrived at his home, asking him to return the cell phone, an iPhone 4. Jackson refused.

"At that point, I decided the police don't interfere with my ability to parent my daughter," Jackson tells WFAA.

The mother of Jackson's daughter, Michelle Steppe, said she called police because she paid the bill for the phone and considered it her property. Steppe and Jackson were once a couple but never married.

Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty of theft of property of at least $50 but under $500, a Class B misdemeanor. Green said the prosecution did not present enough evidence to proceed with the case.

In the German version they also mention that one police officer is the new lover of the mother and his ex. Furthermore they mention the dad did take away the phone because his daughter was sending insulting messages.

I consider this very strange.

He should've just reported the mom to the police for allowing a 12 year old daughter to receive dirty text messages.

Unfortunately in not taking the strategic route he set himself up for vindictive behavior.

I think men these days need to stop relying so much on brawn and rely more on guile, if they did that they could beat manipulative people like this woman at their own game without putting themselves in necessary risk.

Post: #17

Daddy is trying to keep his daughter from going to be just like her mother. That's a tall order, and it really bruised mom's ego.

Post: #18

(01-29-2016 12:22 PM)puckerman Wrote:  Daddy is trying to keep his daughter from going to be just like her mother. That's a tall order, and it really bruised mom's ego.

Yep - it sounds like she wanted sole custody of the daughter and used this as an excuse to have him arrested and take custody.

Unfortunately the guy made a dumb move by setting himself up to be arrested. On the flip side if he had simply gathered evidence that the mom was endangering the child he could've used this to his advantage.

Post: #19

I disagree with those saying that the dad messed up by confiscating his daughter's phone.

No matter who bought this phone for his daughter, whether it was the mom, himself, his own daughter, her uncle - anyone - the dad was well within his rights to parent his daughter the way HE saw fit, within reason. If he did not like what he saw on his daughter's phone and felt that taking it away was the right thing to do, that is his parental right.

Short of child abuse, he should not have to think 10 steps ahead into the future while standing there in front of his daughter with a phone in her hand: "What will her mom do if I took away this phone? Will I get in trouble if I did this or that? Is the government going to approve what I'm about to do?"

Number 1. As long as his daughter is in the father's house, she follows the rules laid down by her father. Period.

Number 2. Any object that the daughter possesses within her father's house are subject to the father's rules.

Number 3. If his daughter breaks the rules in the father's house, or his father disapproves of what's on his daughter's phone, he should confiscate that phone. He should give fuck all about what the real owner of that phone thinks.

When we get to the point where a father has to worry about what the government, lawyers, other parents, and his ex wife will do every time he puts his foot down with his kid, something is very wrong with modern parenthood.

Yes, the outcome in this particular case was positive, but the real underlying message shows how little control fathers have over parenting today.

Post: #20

^ I've heard of cases where the father takes away the cell phone, only to have the mom buy the daughter a new one later on.

Broken mothers raising broken daughters. It's a lose lose. Never have kids with a fucked up woman, your kids won't survive, or grow into well-adjusted human beings, unless you can get full or near-full custody.

Post: #21

(01-29-2016 01:07 PM)Samseau Wrote:  Broken mothers raising broken daughters. It's a lose lose. Never have kids with a fucked up woman, your kids won't survive, or grow into well-adjusted human beings, unless you can get full or near-full custody.

I'm 100% with you on that one.

Post: #22

(01-29-2016 01:07 PM)Samseau Wrote:  ^ I've heard of cases where the father takes away the cell phone, only to have the mom buy the daughter a new one later on.

Broken mothers raising broken daughters. It's a lose lose. Never have kids with a fucked up woman, your kids won't survive, or grow into well-adjusted human beings, unless you can get full or near-full custody.

Everything about your kids starts with mom.

== If she's a high strung career woman (doctor, lawyer, executive) odds are, she'll have problems with the pregnancy (potentially sticking you with a brain damaged, handicapped or otherwise damaged kid.) This has happened in about 50% of career women I know.

== If she's a slob or a slut, the kids will grow up to be lazy drug dealers or useless. At 65 you won't be able to retire because you'll be supporting them.

==If she fails to spend the first 4-8 years nurturing the child, you'll end up with a kid who is into drugs, or is shellshocked and terrified of life.


As a dad, you can have a minimal influence on the boys, starting about age 8, but otherwise it's all about your wife's morals and, whether your wife is a full time caretaker for your kids.

See my post: "A wife who isn't submissive isn't really a wife at all" /thread-28470.html

Post: #23

(01-29-2016 11:22 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  The problem here is that the phone DID belong to the mother...and he refused to give it back.

What if it was a car? Or a house? Or a precious diamond necklace? I know they are extreme examples but the point still holds.


What a shitty position for a father to find himself in, though.

According to the article, the mom "felt" like it was her phone....because she was paying the phone bill. It doesn't state who actually bought the phone, and because of that, I'm guessing it's dad.

Post: #24

(01-29-2016 11:11 AM)Samseau Wrote:  First of all, this is the classic case of police abuse. This should have never resulted in an arrest, and the cops should have never even came to talk to the Dad. What an absurd waste of state resources. Claims of stolen property under $500 can easily be resolved in small claims court.

In States where there is low-crime, generally police have nothing better to do than chase down law-abiding citizens over trivial matters. It is a real problem and it is super annoying.

That said,

(01-29-2016 06:18 AM)CleanSlate Wrote:  That's it. If I can't parent my kids they way I see fit here in the US, I'm not having kids within the US. Fuck this shit.

I know he got acquitted, but he should have never been arrested, nor even visited by the police, in the first place.

The outcome of the case was positive. The judges threw the case out of court because they knew it was bullshit, from top to bottom.

In all fairness, we must admit the system worked properly and protected the rights of the father.

Except this isn't what happened, the judge didn't throw it out, the case dragged out for 2 years until the guy was acquitted by jury trial. NOBODY, not the judge, the police or the prosecutor did anything but subject him him to the full fury of the system for TWO YEARS. And likely thousands in legal bills

Post: #25

Some really bad strategy by dad. Mom is looking for an opportunity to hit him with a power play, and he hands it right to her. He's got to find a way to discipline his daughter without getting himself thrown in jail. Even if he didn't immediately understand that's where this is going, he's got to figure it out when the cops show up at the door and tell him he's got to hand over the phone or go to jail. He knows she's married to one of the guys in that department, they're not looking to do him any favors. Hand it over, and figure out a way to do this without turning himself into a martyr.