# Man Jailed After Adult Daughter Fails To Get GED - What? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942 "2008-05-11T18:27:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/1 "2008-05-11T18:27:07Z")
This story (via fark) seems to beggar the imagination. How does this guy not have a huge lawsuit opportunity against the state? [Man Jailed After Daughter Fails To Get GED](http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=28d2acca-9947-44cc-8831-9859f1f6137e) > [@](#): > > A Fairfield man is in jail because his daughter hasn’t gotten her General Equivalency Diploma (GED). > > A judge ordered the father to stay on top of his daughter’s education months ago and when that order wasn’t followed, Brian Gegner was sentenced to 180-days in the Butler County jail. The daughter, Brittany Gegner, says her father shouldn’t be punished for her problems. Especially, she says because she’s now 18, an adult. > [@](#): > > “I never dreamed they would put him in jail for this – for six months – it’s crazy,” said Stephanie Gegner, Brittany’s step-mother. “He has no control over what his adult daughter does,” she said. “He just doesn’t.” > > Court administrators say that even though Brittany is an adult now, the case remains active in their court because she was a juvenile when the problems started. They say this type of punishment is rare and reserved for extreme cases when court orders aren’t met. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/2 "2008-05-11T18:43:22Z")
Specifically re the question I am asking in GQ - How, logically, can a father be deemed responsible for the academic performance of an adult child? I can understand making sure a minor child attends school, and putting that on the parent as a requirement, but how… legally, logically, or just based on common sense can any Judge or court “order” a person to guarantee that another person (much less an adult) will pass a math exam on pain of imprisonment? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/3 "2008-05-11T19:01:56Z")
Here’s a post from the dad’s sister. Interesting. > [@](#): > > Posted on 5/9/2008 4:14:21 AM > > My brother, Brian Gegner, was sentenced Wednesday by the Butler County Juvenile Court to 180 days in jail because his daughter, Brittany, who will be 19 years old in August, has not obtained her GED. Have you ever heard of such a thing?! > > Brian was appointed Brittany’s primary custodial parent when she was three years old. As a teenager, Brittany had truancy problems. Brian and his wife did everything they could to keep Brittany in school during this time, short of handcuffing themselves to her and attending school with her. > > At the age of 17, Brittany became pregnant and chose to move herself and her boyfriend into her biological mother’s home. Her mother then enrolled her into another school. It was 5 months before Brittany’s 18th birthday so Brian decided maybe this would be a good change for Brittany. Perhaps she would attend school while living with her mother. However, she did not last at that school, either. > > Brittany had a court hearing in March 2007 regarding her truancy. She was told to return to school the next day, which she did, but not for long. > > She returned to court on June 1, 2007, which is when Brian was told he would go to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor if Brittany did not return to school in the Fall. > > On August 23, 2007 Brittany turned 18 years old. > > She returned to juvenile court, although she was now 18, on August 29th. The court then ordered Brian to take Brittany out of school, and told Brittany to get her GED before the next court date or her father would go to jail. > > Brittany had her baby in November 2007. > > By the next court date, February 13, 2008, Brittany was taking her GED classes but could not pass parts of the test. > > Then today, May 7, 2008, she still had not obtained her GED because she continued to fail the mathematics section of the test, so Brian was remanded for 180 days. He was not given the option of paying a fine, or a combination of a fine, community service, and jail time. > > If Brian is kept in jail for 180 days, he will get out after Brittany celebrates her 19th birthday. > > Of course those who know Brian wonder how the Judge could do this to a man who was granted custody of his children, raised them to the best of his ability, has been an employee for the same company for 15 years, a loving husband, is not a drug addict, thief, child molester, dog beater, etc. How can the court hold him responsible for the actions of another adult? Brittany is definitely not the one being punished for her actions. And, Brian’s ex, the mother of his two children, owes him $15,000 in back child support but has never spent an hour in jail! > > Brian was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child…a misdemeanor punishable up to 180 days in jail…the maximum sentence. In this case, 180 days seems extremely excessive given that Brian has no control over the course of action Brittany, an adult mother who owns her own home, chooses to take. > > Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Brian had a court appointed attorney. > > Of course Brian’s wife is devastated. How much would you lose if your husband was thrown into jail for 6 months? His income, his employment, the car, the house. And you can imagine the loneliness she feels, the tears she cries everyday. And Brian has another daughter still at home, missing her Dad. > > You can view more about this story on [wcpo.com](http://wcpo.com) > > Anyone have “difficult” teenagers? What’s your opinion? from [http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:-MkmZeUIr-MJ:www.cincymoms.com/f/ShowThread.aspx%3Ftid%3D49066%26cid%3D15%26fid%3D94+"Brian+Gegner+"&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us](http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:-MkmZeUIr-MJ:www.cincymoms.com/f/ShowThread.aspx%3Ftid%3D49066%26cid%3D15%26fid%3D94+%22Brian+Gegner+%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/4 "2008-05-11T19:07:10Z")
Oh, I forgot. This is OHIO. Nevermind. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/5 "2008-05-11T19:27:20Z")
This is family court. These asshole judges are used to mandating outcomes in families. Just because the daughter is 19 means nothing. This judge makes adults do silly and childish things for his living. Why can’t YOU make a 19 year old do something? (According to family court logic) Hopefully this case leads to some reform in the family court system. BTW, why hasn’t the Governor of Ohio read this story and ordered this man’s release from jail? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/6 "2008-05-11T21:35:16Z")
From reading the article it seems that this is for something that happened when she was 16. Think of it as basically a suspended sentence. The judge had the option to sentence him several years ago and didn’t as long as certain conditions were met. Those conditions were not met hence the sentence. Of course things are different from state to state but juvenile court usually retains jurisdiction for events that happened when someone is a juvenile even after they become an adult. This is GQ so don’t take the above as agreeing with what happened in the court. Just trying to answer the question. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/7 "2008-05-11T21:51:51Z")
It’s still effing stupid - if they girl is running wild (which seems to be much of the problem here) lock HER up until she passes the test. You just know there’s got to be more to this story than what we have here… ---
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/8 "2008-05-11T22:17:41Z")
It’s a ridiculous sentence. It’s also surprising that she can’t pass the math section of the GED. It looks to be basic arithmetic in word problem form for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/9 "2008-05-11T22:34:55Z")
She might have [dyscalculia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia). For learning disorders like these a one on one therapeutic approach might be better than rote study. > [@](#): > > Dyscalculia can be detected at a young age and measures can be taken to ease the problems faced by younger students. The main problem is understanding the way mathematics is taught to children. In the way that dyslexia can be dealt with by using a slightly different approach to teaching, so can dyscalculia. However, dyscalculia is the lesser known of these learning disorders and so is often not recognized. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/10 "2008-05-12T06:39:13Z")
This is absolutely outrageous. We are not living in a free country, and haven’t been for a while now. I’m scared - honestly. Someone - a mayor, a county council person, a state legislator, a congress person, a governor - SOMEONE needs to do something for this man. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/11 "2008-05-12T11:37:02Z")
You would think the age of the whipping boy would be over, wouldn’t you? Isn’t it about time that people are held liable for their own actions instead of the actions of others? I would imagine there would be a tremendous outcry if they jailed teachers for kids not being educated and they have a greater degree of influence on that as opposed to the parents. Family courts (and CPS officers, for that matter) make me sick. They are so severely screwed up and they are exempt from prosecution themselves for all the needless pain (and even death) they can inflict on families. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/12 "2008-05-12T12:54:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Court administrators say that even though Brittany is an adult now, the case remains active in their court because she was a juvenile when the problems started. They say this type of punishment is rare and reserved for extreme cases when court orders aren’t met. Which part of this is unclear?[ul][li]When she was sixteen, her father was responsible for her.[_]The judge threatened to send her father to prison unless he was able to cause a change in his daughter’s behavior - to wit, having her graduate high school or the equivalent (the GED).[_]He failed to bring about this change.[\*]Now he has to go to prison.[/ul]IOW, he is not being sent to prison because of the actions of his adult daughter. He is being sent to prison because of the actions of his daughter when she was a minor. [/li] Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/13 "2008-05-12T13:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] Which part of this is unclear?[ul][li]When she was sixteen, her father was responsible for her.[_]The judge threatened to send her father to prison unless he was able to cause a change in his daughter’s behavior - to wit, having her graduate high school or the equivalent (the GED).[_]He failed to bring about this change.Now he has to go to prison.[/ul]IOW, he is not being sent to prison because of the actions of his adult daughter. He is being sent to prison because of the actions of his daughter when she was a minor.[/li][/QUOTE] I think you need to take the reading comprehension part of the GED again. Brittany turned 18 on 8/23/2007. The “get a GED or Dad goes do jail” order was given on 8/29/2007, a week after she became a legal adult. You can feel free to argue that young people nowadays in some cases remain _de facto_ children well into their 20’s, but in the eyes of a law, this court has jailed one adult for failing to control another adult. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/14 "2008-05-12T14:20:56Z")
Surely everyone in that jurisdiction whose child drops out of school has been jailed. Right? Right? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/15 "2008-05-12T14:40:36Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Surely everyone in that jurisdiction whose child drops out of school has been jailed. Right? Right? [/QUOTE] Well…I’m in the county just south of that one, so mayhaps I should consider myself lucky given my own son’s issues. I find this story ridiculous and disgusting and feel sympathetic towards the father. Stupid judge. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/16 "2008-05-12T16:15:27Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] I think you need to take the reading comprehension part of the GED again. Brittany turned 18 on 8/23/2007. The “get a GED or Dad goes do jail” order was given on 8/29/2007, a week after she became a legal adult. You can feel free to argue that young people nowadays in some cases remain _de facto_ children well into their 20’s, but in the eyes of a law, this court has jailed one adult for failing to control another adult. [/QUOTE] I don’t think this is right. The charge of contributing to the delinquincy of a minor occurred when the daughter was 16. The court order to get the GED was to avoid the penalty of the charge, so it doesn’t matter that the daughter had turned 18. Suppose Tracy Lords does some underage porn. It’s against the law to possess underage porn. Can you argue that it’s legal to possess her underage porn because Tracy Lords is no longer underage? I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/17 "2008-05-12T16:22:12Z")
[QUOTE=Cosmic Relief] I think you need to take the reading comprehension part of the GED again. Brittany turned 18 on 8/23/2007. The “get a GED or Dad goes do jail” order was given on 8/29/2007, a week after she became a legal adult. You can feel free to argue that young people nowadays in some cases remain _de facto_ children well into their 20’s, but in the eyes of a law, this court has jailed one adult for failing to control another adult. [/QUOTE] I swear to god that link in the OP went to a better written story yesterday. I can’t seem to find one with more information. In the longer story it mentioned that the original stay of sentence happened when she was 16. At that time the judge ordered her back to school or her father would go to jail. She dropped out again. The judge did not send the father to jail. The judge imposed other conditions and continued the stay. Those conditions were not met. Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over adults for things that happened when they were juveniles. The sentence was for something that happened when she was a juvenile. We don’t know the original reason for her being in juvenile court to begin with. Dropouts don’t go to court just for dropping out. Something else happened and we don’t know the father’s role in it. I am not saying this to say I agree. I don’t. It is not possible to make a 16 year do what they don’t want to do let alone an 18 year old. However the OP asked a GQ question I am attempting to give a GQy answer since this is GQ and not RO. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/18 "2008-05-12T16:50:20Z")
[QUOTE=The Controvert] acy Lords does some underage porn. It’s against the law to possess underage porn. Can you argue that it’s legal to possess her underage porn because Tracy Lords is no longer underage? I don’t think so. [/QUOTE] This is a false analogy. Under this analogy, the situation would be jailing someone for helping Traci Lords shoot porn movies on the day she turned 18, because it would have been illegal to shoot the film the day before when she was 17. When the person turns 18, they’re an adult, it’s too late for the court to start forcing the parents to be parents. However, if Loach’s restated story is correct in saying that he was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor _at the time she was 16_, and was given a suspended sentence of that crime based on satisfying certain conditions that he failed to meet, then this makes a lot more sense legally. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/19 "2008-05-12T16:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] Which part of this is unclear? \ IOW, he is not being sent to prison because of the actions of his adult daughter. He is being sent to prison because of the actions of his daughter when she was a minor. Regards, Shodan [/QUOTE] It was the original order that was dumb (unless it was some kind of plea deal that the father agreed to). How can anyone make sure with 100% certainty that their daughter passes a test? It even puts the daughter in a position where she can tank the test on purpose out of spite to put her father in prison. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942/20 "2008-05-12T17:18:41Z")
[QUOTE=arseNal] It was the original order that was dumb (unless it was some kind of plea deal that the father agreed to). How can anyone make sure with 100% certainty that their daughter passes a test? It even puts the daughter in a position where she can tank the test on purpose out of spite to put her father in prison. [/QUOTE] > [@the sister of the jailed man](#): > > She returned to court on June 1, 2007, which is when Brian was told he would go to jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor if Brittany did not return to school in the Fall. > > On August 23, 2007 Brittany turned 18 years old. > > She returned to juvenile court, although she was now 18, on August 29th. The court then ordered Brian to take Brittany out of school, and told Brittany to get her GED before the next court date or her father would go to jail. If this account (according to Brian Gegner’s sister) is an accurate description of events, then the court did not declare that the girl must pass her GED until she was already an adult. On the other hand, this account is confusing because it does not explain why she was back in court on August 29th. In general, I agree that even if the man is, legally speaking, being punished for a crime _he_ committed when his daughter was a minor, the court seems to have placed itself in an absurd position. Suspending a man’s sentence on condition that he do such-and-such a thing only makes sense if it’s something that’s actually in his power to do. The one niggling detail that I can’t find is when exactly the man was _charged_ with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-jailed-after-adult-daughter-fails-to-get-ged-what/448942.md?page=2)