norinew, glad to hear that things are going forward. It sounds, too, like you’ve got your supports in place to help you, and mudgirl get through this.
At the risk of sounding unduly pessimistic: Don’t count on this being your last court appearance. Things might be delayed, there might be a continuance, and even if nothing else goes wrong, AIUI what would come next would be for the case to be bound over for trial. Just keep hanging in there, and know we’re rooting for you, and mudgirl.
Well, heck, here I was searching my mind for the right words to express what I wanted to say, and here’s Tequila Mockingbird saying them for me.
So, um … ditto!
I understand fully that Thursday might be the beginning of what can be a very long, drawn-out process. However, if it doesn’t all pan out as I hope it will, I am fully prepared to file a civil suit.
Thanks again, all, for your good wishes and kind words. I doubt that any of you can truly appreciate how important and helpful they are to me!
Just spoke with the ADA. She said that she is hoping to be able to arrange things in such a way that my daughter does not have to appear in court. Apparently, both punks have admitted guilt, which makes things easier for her.
I told her that what I really wish is for those two boys to get the help they clearly need, and she asked me how well I knew the boys, and what I knew about their background. I told her that I knew Punk #1 fairly well, and knew something of his background, as they lived across the street from me for a number of years (they’ve moved now, though not very far away). She told me that when Punk #1 showed up for his interview, with his father, his father was wearing a sexually explicit T-shirt. To a court interview! :smack: and :eek:
She will call me early next week to update me, but lets all hope mudgirl will not be required to appear in court.
Just popping in to say that I’ve been following this thread since the beginning and I wanted to let you know that we are praying for you and your daughter. It’s refreshing to see a parent that is doing it right in a world full of do-nothing no good “non-parents.” I hope everything turns out to your benefit!
–FCOD
I’m not quite as pessimistic as you about the world being “full” of those no-good parents. I tend to think that those are the ones we notice and/or read and hear about. I’d like to think that pretty good/good parents are the rule, and bad parents get noticed because they’re the exception.
But thank you for your kind words.
The funny thing is, I’m usually a pretty optimistic guy! But yeah, your point is true: we tend to notice the outliers more often. However, I believe that my generation (I’m 25) has a lot more “bad” parents than my parents’ generation does. I’m not sure why, and I could be entirely wrong, but I have noticed a pattern amongst the people I know.
It doesn’t really matter though. All that matters is that you’re doing it right and you should be proud.
–FCOD
Well, I don’t have nor want kids, and I’m a bit of an insensitive asshole sometimes.
But this thread has been, truly (in a manly way, of course) one of the most inspiring, faith-in-humanity-restoring dialogues I’ve ever seen. Your strength and capability in dealing with this situation is astounding, and I laud the fact that you seem to want justice, rather than revenge. Not that the two are necessarily always separate.
So - wow, norinew. You fuckin’ rock.
Now, that’s a relief!
I was feeling rather pessimistic about this being a he-said, she-said sort of situation. But if they’ve already admitted to it, there’s almost no possibility of them getting this completely glossed over.
[underlining mine]: Simply amazing! It’s hard to decide which tried/trite-but truism to trot out first!
A) The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
B) Give a man enough rope and he’ll hang himself.
C) That elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top.
etc.
Glad to hear things seem to be going your way,** norinew**. I wonder if they really admitted guilt or if they were too stupid to cover their tracks.
Example 1: I read once about a super dumb criminal that police were interrogating. They took the guy into a room and hooked him up to some fake wires, told him “This is a lie detector.” It was, in fact, a photocopier and on the glass they had placed an original that read, “He’s lying.”
“Did you know the victim?”
“No.”
[They push the “lie detector” button…out comes “He’s lying.”]
They had a confession in five minutes or something :D:D:D:D
Example 2: I can’t find it on youtube, thought sure it would be there. A cop stops a guy for some traffic violation. He asks the guy if it’s all right to check his trunk and the guy consents.
The suspect is in the police car as the search is conducted and he’s screaming, “OH NO! NO! OH HELP ME!” because the cop finds drugs. He later said he consented because he didn’t think the cop would really check.
Anyhoo, here’s hoping for a slam dunk in your favor!
A-HA!
The Wheels of Justice turn slowly, but with luck, they shall “cwush his widdle head”.
Umm, thanks, I guess. 
BTW, your username always makes me smile. 
QFT!
A-freakin’-men!
That’s awesome news, norinew. It’s great that the local justice system is taking this seriously.
Robin
Norine, thanks for the update. I too was just wondering how things were going, and I’m thrilled to hear that it not only looks like justice will be done, but that the rotten punks actually confessed. AND that mudgirl won’t have to testify. I don’t want to jinx anything, but that’s pretty much the best I would have hoped for so far!
I’ll be thinking really positive thoughts your way in hopes things continue to go, well, if not well, as well as can be expected given the shitty circumstances.
Also, add me as one of your fans. You’re a great mom!
Very good news that both punks have admitted guilt. I hope that makes all of this move swiftly.
Let me echo the others here saying you have been a great mother and mudgirl is lucky in her mother.
As you feel comfortable please keep us posted on whats happening.
Thanks for the update. Hope a trial can be averted but justice will still be done, without any further difficulties for you or your daughter. Keep your chin up!
Add me to the list of well wishers.
The father’s clothing choice makes me think that the admission of guilt is a bid for leniency, but I sincerely hope the boys are offered (and take) whatever help is available.
Ditto that!
Stay strong, norinew!!!
Norine, if there are any silver linings in this cloud, I hope that it has brought your other daughters into a stronger sense of family identification, and renewed sense of closeness thereof.
Meanwhile… I used to be a social worker, empowerment & advocacy division (not the personal counseling type). Document everything. Take digital photos. Scribble down dates. Report everything and document when you reported it and who you spoke to. Make the hugest, most OCD, overly-detailed document of All That Happened that is sustainable. The system, as you no doubt know, expects and responds to a history of escalation or continuation in the face of official warnings to knock it off. Courts tend to believe meticulously collected details. Dates, times, places, with photos or sound recordings or videos where possible.
Here is the more current iteration of this thread:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=492528&highlight=punks+assaulted+daughter