I envision those children, young adults, whatever clomping around in orange prison slides.
$400 seems odd to me too.
I hope they clear this up. If criminal activity is going on it needs to be dealt with.
$500 for three weeks is amazingly low.
Further Googling found an article that the Chin, a Christian ethnic minority group who fled persecution in Myanmar, were in that area to work at a Tyson pork processing plant.
I hope bigotry wasn’t involved, but I do think it’s unlikely that such a massive operation–two full days and multiple agencies were involved–was based on one kid’s exaggerations.
This article says the kids were removed after “information and reports” (note the plural) about abuse were received, and authorities arrived with a search warrant, so obviously a judge decided there was probable cause to believe that criminal activity was going on.
This article says children were taken from TWO locations. Google show the locations as being nearly 8 miles apart.
I have a hunch this was more than one kid’s exaggerations, but I’d love to be wrong.
“Abuse” doesn’t necessarily mean sexual or violence. Depending on how the statute is written, it could include neglect, withholding food or limiting sleep, failing to obtain medically necessary services, praying the gay away, verbal abuse, overcrowding, etc.
ETA: Here’s Iowa’s statute. Some states further articulate their standards in Administrative Rules.
232.68 Definitions.
The definitions in section 235A.13 are applicable to this part 2 of division III. As used in sections 232.67 through 232.77 and 235A.12 through 235A.23, unless the context otherwise requires:
“Child” means any person under the age of eighteen years.
“Child abuse” or “abuse” means:
a. Any nonaccidental physical injury, or injury which is at variance with the history given of it, suffered by a child as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child.
b. Any mental injury to a child’s intellectual or psychological capacity as evidenced by an observable and substantial impairment in the child’s ability to function within the child’s normal range of performance and behavior as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of the child, if the impairment is diagnosed and confirmed by a licensed physician or qualified mental health professional as defined in section 622.10.
c. The commission of a sexual offense with or to a child pursuant to chapter 709, section 726.2, or section 728.12, subsection 1, as a result of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child. Notwithstanding section 702.5, the commission of a sexual offense under this paragraph includes any sexual offense referred to in this paragraph with or to a person under the age of eighteen years.
d. The failure on the part of a person responsible for the care of a child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing or other care necessary for the child’s health and welfare when financially able to do so or when offered financial or other reasonable means to do so. A parent or guardian legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child for that reason alone shall not be considered abusing the child, however this provision shall not preclude a court from ordering that medical service be provided to the child where the child’s health requires it.
e. The acts or omissions of a person responsible for the care of a child which allow, permit, or encourage the child to engage in acts prohibited pursuant to section 725.1. Notwithstanding section 702.5, acts or omissions under this paragraph include an act or omission referred to in this paragraph with or to a person under the age of eighteen years.
f. An illegal drug is present in a child’s body as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child.
I do know that the accused can say anything and everything to the press, knowing that the authorities have to be a lot more reserved in what they say. The accused are trying to paint a picture in the public’s eye.
Apparently these are young people with many problems.
Ain’t no one gonna believe just them. Especially not “one”.
They’ll be dismissed, talked about, with no recourse.
The duct tape over the mouth may as well be permanent.
Apparently, someone did. At least enough to investigate further.
I just wonder how long it took for someone to believe her long enough to investigate?
I wonder why you believe it was just one person who got the ball rolling?
From reading the news.
Of course others may have said more since I’ve read.
I hope they have a group of people. And evidence other than unhappy young people who may
be frightened.
Maybe. Ask my high school friends who were carted off to involuntary religious “camps” or psych hospitals or wilderness camps for bad kids for being gay. We don’t know the story here.
I saw that “$400 shoes” comment and thought it was strange.
Before they hired refugees, Tyson and other processors in the area hired mentally disabled people. That’s yet another rabbit hole one could dive down.
This story is not paywalled.
https://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/books/article73078017.html
And people still claim that we don’t need immigrants to do the work Americans won’t.
This event is another example of the very poor quality of local news in the U.S. None of the newspaper articles have bothered to discuss exactly what type of child abuse which supposedly occurred. Why? Because all of them rely on vague press releases from law enforcement or regurgitate other newspaper articles which did this. None talk to the kids or their parents and none seem to have informal relationship which law enforcement personnel who would leak this information.
I live in the region, and I don’t have any more information than anyone else here. I suspect the news media CANNOT report on it, because it involves minors in foster care, many of whom may speak little or no English, and be unfamiliar with American customs.
They obviously have a big problem. Their families sent them there.
That’s a big home problem. If they were sent to get prayed out of gay, the family is not happy with their child.
Or so it seems.
If there’s drugs and alcohol addictions, that right there is a red flag. Whomever the addicted individual is.
I don’t know the religious beliefs of these people, at best it seems sketchy that this “camp” or church thing has these kids at their mercy.
Even if I was predisposed to send my kid to a camp, I’d check it out, church affiliated or not.
I kinda trust a church camp almost(not quite) less than I’d trust a boy scout camp with Priests as counselors.
Yeah, them kids have problems alright.
Sometimes the parents send kids to reeducation camps because the parents have a problem.
This article has a bit more about the people behind this, and a similar program they were behind.
Shock, denials follow removal of 88 children from Louisa County camp | The Gazette