-- NOTE: All posts on this case available HERE, with the most recent post appearing first.
On August 23rd, 2011, Jessica Beagley's legal ordeal finally came to an end. Unfortunately, it resulted in a conviction as a Anchorage jury of six convicted her of misdemeanor child abuse. Sentencing is scheduled to take place on Monday August 29th; a maximum of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine is possible, although one commenter to the Anchorage Daily News story speculates that any sentence might be suspended if Beagley accepts a regimen of court-approved counseling.
Update August 29th: The judge sentenced Beagley to 180 days in jail and a $2,500 fine. Both the jail time and the fine are suspended so long as she complies with the terms of her probation. Municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin recommended 30 days in jail with another 330 days suspended, as well as a $1,500 fine.
The jury appeared to attach much more weight to Beagley's efforts to get air time on Dr. Phil than to the testimony by Virginia Moring, a supervisor with the Office of Children's Services, who testified on August 19th that there were no signs of maltreatment -- which the office defines as neglect, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence or drug use -- during visits to Beagley's home and interviews with her children. Investigators interviewed Beagley and her husband Gary, their children, as well as their coworkers and officials at the kids' school. The kids told OCS they felt safe. KTVA news video finally available:
Neither Jessica Beagley, her husband Gary, nor the six primary jurors had any comment after the trial. However, one alternate juror said she would have also voted to convict, since she believed Beagley was too interested in playing up to Dr. Phil and wondered why Beagley hadn't sought treatment in Anchorage. This is a question Beagley could have answered had she chosen to testify; she chose not to. But the alternate conceded that Beagley was capable of being a good mother.
Beagley's defense lawyer William Ingaldson reacted, saying "The way the law is written ... makes it really difficult for a parent to discipline your kids and not be subject to other people's subjective ideas of what is right or wrong".
Official Russian action could be next, since the Russian government considers adoptees taken from their country to be Russian citizens until they're 18. However, Russia has sent some mixed official signals in the past; in January, while one Russian official said they'd seek to repatriate the twins if Beagley was convicted, another Russian official visited the Beagley home and found no signs of abuse. Their final reaction may depend upon the sentence handed down on August 28th.
Because the Beagley family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the story has provided grist for the propaganda mills on Recovery From Mormonism. However, on the latest thread, they're not really beating up on the Church so much, but instead are merely criticizing Beagley for being clueless.
Showing posts with label Jessica Beagley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jessica Beagley. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Trial Of Alaska "Hot Sauce Mom" Jessica Beagley On Misdemeanor Child Abuse Begins In Anchorage
The trial of the famous "hot sauce mom" Jessica Beagley began on August 16th, 2011 in Anchorage, Alaska. I will be providing daily summations of this trial. For those who are not familiar with this case, Jessica Beagley is the Anchorage mother who was seen on video using hot sauce and cold showers to discipline one of her sons, a Russian adoptee, for misbehaving in school AND for lying about it afterwards. What makes this story even more pertinent to this blog is that the Beagley family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anchorage prosecutors charged Beagley with one count of misdemeanor child abuse. On January 28th, 2011, Beagley pleaded not guilty.
-- All previous posts on this case available HERE, with the most recent post appearing first.
-- Alaska Court System database entry on Jessica Beagley HERE, designated as Case No. 3AN-11-00323CR.
-- Seven-page charging document available HERE
Day One (Aug 16): Jury selection took place; at least 40 jurors were interviewed before they empaneled six of them. Because it's a misdemeanor trial, only six jurors and two alternates are required. Media coverage also included two reporter-photographer teams working for Russian media. Russia has taken an official interest in the case because Russian adoptees transported to another country retain their Russian citizenship until they're 18 years old. Additional story filed by KTVA Channel 11.
Day Two (Aug 17): Featured opening statements by both the prosecution and the defense. Municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin told the jury that that the abuse case centered around videos Beagley sent to the Dr. Phil Show. Apparently the show's producers started pressuring Beagley to "stage" a disciplinary event and send it into the show; fortunately, she did not need to stage an event since one naturally occurred. This was the event we all saw on YouTube. Detectives later applied for a search warrant and seized a camera and computer from the Beagley residence on the basis of that and other videos. The video is embedded below:
In his opening statement, Beagley's lawyer, William Ingaldson explained that this case is not about whether Jessica Beagley used a punishment that the rest of us would use, but rather it's about Jessica Beagley being charged with criminal child abuse. Ingaldson suggested that for the punishment to constitute a crime, prosecutors would have to prove it was done cruelly, gratuitously and with intent to inflict pain.
The latter is the key to the case. The video embedded above shows that Jessica Beagley did NOT act malevolently. She did not chimp out or go ballistic. She was authoritarian and firm, but remained in control at all times. When she took her son into the bathroom, she led him; she did NOT drag him. Thus if I was sitting on the jury, there's no way I could convict her of child abuse.
Day Three (Aug 18): Jurors were shown several tapes, including the one embedded in this post. One tape showed a stressful scene of Beagley getting her children ready for school. In the video, the children are late for school again and their mother is rushing them out the door. On the way to school, the children are told to listen and obey their teacher. If they don't, she threatens to keep them from going trick-or-treating, or worse. "If you lie, your mouth gets hot or soapy," Beagley told her young children. Also testifying were some of the children's elementary school teachers, who said Jessica Beagley was involved in her children's schoolwork and frequently visited their teachers to discuss issues, but never asked for help with disciplinary problems or for a referral for professional help. The prosecution then rested its case; more details published by the Anchorage Daily News.
Day Four (Aug. 19): Virginia Moring, a supervisor with the Office of Children's Services, testified. She said there were no signs of maltreatment -- which the office defines as neglect, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence or drug use -- during visits to Beagley's home and interviews with her children. Investigators interviewed Beagley and her husband Gary, their children, as well as their coworkers and officials at the kids' school. The kids told OCS they felt safe.
Reaction: Comments to some Anchorage Daily News stories indicate supporters of Jessica Beagley slightly outnumber critics. It is noteworthy that although Beagley is a Mormon, there have been no snide comments about Mormonism show up in the comments yet. Here are a couple of typical supportive comments:
Anchorage prosecutors charged Beagley with one count of misdemeanor child abuse. On January 28th, 2011, Beagley pleaded not guilty.
-- All previous posts on this case available HERE, with the most recent post appearing first.
-- Alaska Court System database entry on Jessica Beagley HERE, designated as Case No. 3AN-11-00323CR.
-- Seven-page charging document available HERE
Day One (Aug 16): Jury selection took place; at least 40 jurors were interviewed before they empaneled six of them. Because it's a misdemeanor trial, only six jurors and two alternates are required. Media coverage also included two reporter-photographer teams working for Russian media. Russia has taken an official interest in the case because Russian adoptees transported to another country retain their Russian citizenship until they're 18 years old. Additional story filed by KTVA Channel 11.
Day Two (Aug 17): Featured opening statements by both the prosecution and the defense. Municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin told the jury that that the abuse case centered around videos Beagley sent to the Dr. Phil Show. Apparently the show's producers started pressuring Beagley to "stage" a disciplinary event and send it into the show; fortunately, she did not need to stage an event since one naturally occurred. This was the event we all saw on YouTube. Detectives later applied for a search warrant and seized a camera and computer from the Beagley residence on the basis of that and other videos. The video is embedded below:
In his opening statement, Beagley's lawyer, William Ingaldson explained that this case is not about whether Jessica Beagley used a punishment that the rest of us would use, but rather it's about Jessica Beagley being charged with criminal child abuse. Ingaldson suggested that for the punishment to constitute a crime, prosecutors would have to prove it was done cruelly, gratuitously and with intent to inflict pain.
The latter is the key to the case. The video embedded above shows that Jessica Beagley did NOT act malevolently. She did not chimp out or go ballistic. She was authoritarian and firm, but remained in control at all times. When she took her son into the bathroom, she led him; she did NOT drag him. Thus if I was sitting on the jury, there's no way I could convict her of child abuse.
Day Three (Aug 18): Jurors were shown several tapes, including the one embedded in this post. One tape showed a stressful scene of Beagley getting her children ready for school. In the video, the children are late for school again and their mother is rushing them out the door. On the way to school, the children are told to listen and obey their teacher. If they don't, she threatens to keep them from going trick-or-treating, or worse. "If you lie, your mouth gets hot or soapy," Beagley told her young children. Also testifying were some of the children's elementary school teachers, who said Jessica Beagley was involved in her children's schoolwork and frequently visited their teachers to discuss issues, but never asked for help with disciplinary problems or for a referral for professional help. The prosecution then rested its case; more details published by the Anchorage Daily News.
Day Four (Aug. 19): Virginia Moring, a supervisor with the Office of Children's Services, testified. She said there were no signs of maltreatment -- which the office defines as neglect, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence or drug use -- during visits to Beagley's home and interviews with her children. Investigators interviewed Beagley and her husband Gary, their children, as well as their coworkers and officials at the kids' school. The kids told OCS they felt safe.
Reaction: Comments to some Anchorage Daily News stories indicate supporters of Jessica Beagley slightly outnumber critics. It is noteworthy that although Beagley is a Mormon, there have been no snide comments about Mormonism show up in the comments yet. Here are a couple of typical supportive comments:
craniumak August 17th 12:34 P.M:
This is a joke. There are far worse things out there that could be considered child abuse. Now kids are told that even if their parents talk to them in a mean way they should bring it up to a counselor or something of the sort. I grew up in a military family that was very firm and strict. When I became of age and moved out on my own, and started living in the “civilian” world, I was sort of appalled at how kids act. For most of the family’s that I knew growing up in the military, we all were very respectful and knew our places. Yes there were a few odd ball ones, but, but to the most part pretty good. Because of how the system works now and current laws you can barely even yell at your kid without it being considered child abuse. The punishments that I got growing up in my household I take for granted now. It taught me that for every action that I do; it will come with a consequence. Some kids can’t be tamed or controlled with just words in some cases. However, by no means am I saying that someone should beat a kid also. Ok enough ranting.
AggravatedMotherOfSix August 17th 1:10 P.M:
I absolutely agree with you. I also grew up in a Military family. All these people whining about a mother putting hot sauce in his mouth are probably parents that would also find something wrong with washing a kids mouth out with soap. With every action there are consequences and kids need to learn that. Kids today that are being raised by these complacent parents who believe time out is the only way to go and spanking is wrong are doing the children an injustice. I absolutely believe in corporal punishment. With that being said, because my children knew what the consequences were I rarely ever had to resort to it. Today kids can report you if they get mad because you punished them, it is ridiculous and its people like the ones who posted here that have caused that.
Very few kids today respect their elders. More often they have this sense of entitlement because the parents give them what they want, the latest electronic gadget, ipods and cell phones in elementary. Where did the value of working hard for what you want go?
In defense I do not know the fully story of this lady however, if her only offense was putting hot sauce in the boys mouth for bad language and she was not beating on him then I believe she has the right whether or not people agree with that form of punishment.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Alaska "Hot Sauce" Mom Jessica Beagley Pleads Not Guilty To Misdemeanor Child Abuse In Anchorage
-- NOTE: All previous posts on this case available HERE, with the most recent post appearing first.
Jessica Beagley, who earlier received national publicity over her November 17th, 2010 appearance on Dr. Phil where it was disclosed she used hot sauce and cold showers as part of her disciplinary repertoire with a fractious seven-year old adopted Russian boy, had her lawyer enter a plea of not guilty to misdemeanor child abuse on her behalf in an Anchorage court on January 28th, 2011. KTUU Channel 2 and the Anchorage Daily News provide the primary media coverage, while the Anchorage Press documented Russian interest in the case two days earlier.
-- Alaska Court System database entry on Jessica Beagley HERE, designated as Case No. 3AN-11-00323CR.
-- Seven-page charging document available HERE
KTUU news video embedded below:
Beagley was not required to be personally present, which may have been a good thing, because according to one of her lawyers, Pete Ramgren, he'd never seen that many cameras in an arraignment for misdemeanor city charges. There were at least four video cameras, including one with a TV crew from Russia, a crew from the Lower 48 rumored to be shooting for the Today show, and reporters from two local news channels. Ramgren claimed there'd be no media circus had it not been for Beagley's appearance on Dr. Phil. Alaska Pride believes the charges are politically motivated, and not only because of the Dr. Phil appearance.
Dispute centers around the cited statute, AMC8.10.030(B)(2) (if the link fails, go HERE and select Title 8 from the menu on the left). The statute lists several factors in determining what is reasonable parental discipline. One example of unreasonable discipline included in the code is the scalding, branding or burning of a child. But Beagley's attorney maintains that Jessica Beagley did not break municipal law, because the Beagley children haven't had physical injuries or medical care for injuries. In contrast, municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin found evidence from the investigating detective's report that Beagley's methods of discipline were not reasonable and therefore broke Anchorage child abuse laws, and decided to press charges.
Beagley's husband, Gary Beagley, is an Anchorage police officer. He has not been charged, and there are no reports of any sanctions directed against him on the job by APD. The family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only a handful of anti-Mormon remarks have surfaced in the comments section of local media.
Russian TV crews were also present to cover the arraignment. A correspondent says Beagley's case was a shock to Russians and is being closely followed, especially after a case last year when an American woman sent her adopted boy back to Moscow. Adoptions to the United States were halted afterwards, potentially affecting thousands of U.S. families; negotiations between the two governments are taking place. Even though the seven-year-old boy was adopted by an American family, Russia still considers the boy a Russian citizen.
However, KTUU separately reported on January 27th that the adoption agency that helped the Beagleys get their Russian sons stands behind Jessica. Olga Byrnes said, "This is good family. I personally, I met this family numerous times, and I remember them they were very excited about the Russian adoption."
Jessica Beagley, who earlier received national publicity over her November 17th, 2010 appearance on Dr. Phil where it was disclosed she used hot sauce and cold showers as part of her disciplinary repertoire with a fractious seven-year old adopted Russian boy, had her lawyer enter a plea of not guilty to misdemeanor child abuse on her behalf in an Anchorage court on January 28th, 2011. KTUU Channel 2 and the Anchorage Daily News provide the primary media coverage, while the Anchorage Press documented Russian interest in the case two days earlier.
-- Alaska Court System database entry on Jessica Beagley HERE, designated as Case No. 3AN-11-00323CR.
-- Seven-page charging document available HERE
KTUU news video embedded below:
Beagley was not required to be personally present, which may have been a good thing, because according to one of her lawyers, Pete Ramgren, he'd never seen that many cameras in an arraignment for misdemeanor city charges. There were at least four video cameras, including one with a TV crew from Russia, a crew from the Lower 48 rumored to be shooting for the Today show, and reporters from two local news channels. Ramgren claimed there'd be no media circus had it not been for Beagley's appearance on Dr. Phil. Alaska Pride believes the charges are politically motivated, and not only because of the Dr. Phil appearance.
Dispute centers around the cited statute, AMC8.10.030(B)(2) (if the link fails, go HERE and select Title 8 from the menu on the left). The statute lists several factors in determining what is reasonable parental discipline. One example of unreasonable discipline included in the code is the scalding, branding or burning of a child. But Beagley's attorney maintains that Jessica Beagley did not break municipal law, because the Beagley children haven't had physical injuries or medical care for injuries. In contrast, municipal prosecutor Cynthia Franklin found evidence from the investigating detective's report that Beagley's methods of discipline were not reasonable and therefore broke Anchorage child abuse laws, and decided to press charges.
Beagley's husband, Gary Beagley, is an Anchorage police officer. He has not been charged, and there are no reports of any sanctions directed against him on the job by APD. The family are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Only a handful of anti-Mormon remarks have surfaced in the comments section of local media.
Russian TV crews were also present to cover the arraignment. A correspondent says Beagley's case was a shock to Russians and is being closely followed, especially after a case last year when an American woman sent her adopted boy back to Moscow. Adoptions to the United States were halted afterwards, potentially affecting thousands of U.S. families; negotiations between the two governments are taking place. Even though the seven-year-old boy was adopted by an American family, Russia still considers the boy a Russian citizen.
However, KTUU separately reported on January 27th that the adoption agency that helped the Beagleys get their Russian sons stands behind Jessica. Olga Byrnes said, "This is good family. I personally, I met this family numerous times, and I remember them they were very excited about the Russian adoption."
Update January 29th: Discussion has surfaced on an anti-Mormon website, Recovery From Mormonism. Posters seem to be assuming the worst about Jessica Beagley, despite documentation indicating this behavior was primarily directed towards that one adoptive child. The testimony by the Russian consul, who visited the family, is completely disregarded. It should be noted that Beagley was obviously conscious of the fact that her disciplinary techniques were not working, which is why she sought Dr. Phil's help in the first place. While the ex-Mo's on RFM think the Church is too paternalistic, and departed its ranks because of it, they seem to have no problem with government paternalism. I'm no fan of paternalism period, but I'll trust the President of the Church long before I'll trust the President of the U.S.A.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Anchorage LDS Mom Jessica Beagley Appears On Dr. Phil's "Mommy Confessions" To Discuss "Hot Sauce" Child Discipline, Accused Of Child Abuse
-- NOTE: All posts on this case available HERE, with the most recent post appearing first. Beagley was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse on August 23rd, 2011.
An Anchorage, Alaska woman identified as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently appeared on Dr. Phil's program, where her child discipline techniques were discussed. As a result, she has been characterized as a "child abuser". Primary media story published by the Anchorage Press; supplemental story in the Anchorage Daily News. Additional sources of information include the Recovery from Mormonism (RFM) forum and Free Republic. This post is intended to assemble and consolidate all the disparate information from the various sources.
The woman is identified as Jessica Beagley, married to Gary Beagley, an Anchorage patrol officer who was once a detective (there's no indication he was "flopped back into the bag" for disciplinary reasons; APD actually proposes to flop a few more detectives to cope with budgetary constraints). They have six children; one of them, a seven-year-old boy, is a Russian adoptee. They are identified as members of the LDS Church; reference is made to a group photo of the family posing outside the LDS temple in Bountiful, Utah. According to RFM, Jessica was recently the stake-level Primary president.
The controversy came to a head during a November 17th episode of the Dr. Phil showed called “Mommy Confessions”. One of Bagley's other kids shot a video of Jennifer disciplining her seven-year-old Russian adoptee son, Kristoff. On the video, Jessica is observed to be verbally reproving Kristoff for having received three discipline cards in elementary school for throwing pencils, sword-fighting with another child, and acting out in another class, and then lying to Jessica about the in-school discipline. While the name of the school is not revealed, Anchorage School District records indicate both the Beagleys have volunteered at Turnagain Elementary School.
Jessica seems to be much more troubled about the lying than the infraction itself. Although assertive, she's not particularly aggressive. Then she has Kristoff drink a small portion of hot sauce. She then continues to reprove him, then allows him to spit out the hot sauce. Then she directs him to take a cold shower; he can be heard crying while showering. While the video cannot be embedded, you can view it HERE, and read the transcript HERE.
I have now found a YouTube version:
Gary Beagley was also on the show, and he said a friend of his wife gave them the idea for the hot sauce. He credits his Department of Defense training for the cold shower technique, saying “In the military, we use cold showers for discipline, to get people’s attention”. Of course, there's one problem with this analogy -- there aren't too many seven-year-old boys in the military.
The audience reacted in a hostile fashion, with one person calling Jessica "evil". In response, Dr. Phil said, "I don’t believe you’re an evil person. I think you are misguided. I think you think you’re doing the only thing you know how to do, but that is totally unacceptable.” The couple believes the child to have reactive attachment disorder; they note that Kristoff's twin brother causes no problems. A comment by Therese posted to the Press story indicates that three of the Beagley's children are Russian adoptees; they ought to be commended for at least opening their home to so many unwanted children.
The Beagley family has chosen not to respond to media requests to tell their side of the story. Furthermore, they have "privatized" their blog; it's now available only to invited readers, although a cached version is still viewable. There seems to be a rush to judgment on the Beagley couple; while disciplinarians, they don't seem to be abusers. Washing a kid's mouth out with hot sauce is preferable to washing his mouth out with soap; at least hot sauce can be consumed without ill effects. The cold shower routine seems excessive, though.
Furthermore, while Dr. Phil does appear to direct his guests towards competent therapists and other providers, he's in it for the ratings. He's basically just a higher-class version of Montel Williams and Maury Povich. Dr. Phil was discovered by Oprah Winfrey, who turned him into a cult hero. Contrary to popular rumor, Dr. Phil was never married to Oprah.
Members of the LDS Church can get help with family issues through LDS Family Services; specific help with adopted children available HERE. It is unlikely the Beagleys would face Church discipline over this issue other than probation.
An Anchorage, Alaska woman identified as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently appeared on Dr. Phil's program, where her child discipline techniques were discussed. As a result, she has been characterized as a "child abuser". Primary media story published by the Anchorage Press; supplemental story in the Anchorage Daily News. Additional sources of information include the Recovery from Mormonism (RFM) forum and Free Republic. This post is intended to assemble and consolidate all the disparate information from the various sources.
The woman is identified as Jessica Beagley, married to Gary Beagley, an Anchorage patrol officer who was once a detective (there's no indication he was "flopped back into the bag" for disciplinary reasons; APD actually proposes to flop a few more detectives to cope with budgetary constraints). They have six children; one of them, a seven-year-old boy, is a Russian adoptee. They are identified as members of the LDS Church; reference is made to a group photo of the family posing outside the LDS temple in Bountiful, Utah. According to RFM, Jessica was recently the stake-level Primary president.
The controversy came to a head during a November 17th episode of the Dr. Phil showed called “Mommy Confessions”. One of Bagley's other kids shot a video of Jennifer disciplining her seven-year-old Russian adoptee son, Kristoff. On the video, Jessica is observed to be verbally reproving Kristoff for having received three discipline cards in elementary school for throwing pencils, sword-fighting with another child, and acting out in another class, and then lying to Jessica about the in-school discipline. While the name of the school is not revealed, Anchorage School District records indicate both the Beagleys have volunteered at Turnagain Elementary School.
Jessica seems to be much more troubled about the lying than the infraction itself. Although assertive, she's not particularly aggressive. Then she has Kristoff drink a small portion of hot sauce. She then continues to reprove him, then allows him to spit out the hot sauce. Then she directs him to take a cold shower; he can be heard crying while showering. While the video cannot be embedded, you can view it HERE, and read the transcript HERE.
I have now found a YouTube version:
Gary Beagley was also on the show, and he said a friend of his wife gave them the idea for the hot sauce. He credits his Department of Defense training for the cold shower technique, saying “In the military, we use cold showers for discipline, to get people’s attention”. Of course, there's one problem with this analogy -- there aren't too many seven-year-old boys in the military.
The audience reacted in a hostile fashion, with one person calling Jessica "evil". In response, Dr. Phil said, "I don’t believe you’re an evil person. I think you are misguided. I think you think you’re doing the only thing you know how to do, but that is totally unacceptable.” The couple believes the child to have reactive attachment disorder; they note that Kristoff's twin brother causes no problems. A comment by Therese posted to the Press story indicates that three of the Beagley's children are Russian adoptees; they ought to be commended for at least opening their home to so many unwanted children.
The Beagley family has chosen not to respond to media requests to tell their side of the story. Furthermore, they have "privatized" their blog; it's now available only to invited readers, although a cached version is still viewable. There seems to be a rush to judgment on the Beagley couple; while disciplinarians, they don't seem to be abusers. Washing a kid's mouth out with hot sauce is preferable to washing his mouth out with soap; at least hot sauce can be consumed without ill effects. The cold shower routine seems excessive, though.
Furthermore, while Dr. Phil does appear to direct his guests towards competent therapists and other providers, he's in it for the ratings. He's basically just a higher-class version of Montel Williams and Maury Povich. Dr. Phil was discovered by Oprah Winfrey, who turned him into a cult hero. Contrary to popular rumor, Dr. Phil was never married to Oprah.
Members of the LDS Church can get help with family issues through LDS Family Services; specific help with adopted children available HERE. It is unlikely the Beagleys would face Church discipline over this issue other than probation.
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