Abuse call leads to arrest of 12-year-old

Authorities say the girl had used a state abuse hotline three times to falsely accuse her mother of beating her.

By BILL VARIAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

CRYSTAL RIVER -- A 12-year-old girl was arrested Wednesday on charges of filing a false report to law enforcement after, authorities say, she called in a bogus abuse complaint against her mother to a state hotline.

Authorities said it was the third time she had placed such a call.

The 4-foot-10, 89-pound girl was handcuffed behind her back, as part of officer safety procedures, according to her arrest report. Then she was taken to the Citrus County Detention Facility to be booked on the misdemeanor charge. She was later released to an unspecified parent.

An arrest report does not identify the girl by name because she is a juvenile.

A Citrus County sheriff's deputy's report indicates that the girl called a toll-free number, (800) 962-2873, operated by the Department of Children and Families to say she needed immediate attention. She said her mother was beating her with a stick, leaving welts and bruises all over her body.

A deputy responded along with an investigator with Children and Families. They asked the girl to show them the welts and bruises. The girl said she didn't have any and denied calling the abuse hotline, according to her arrest report.

The Children and Families investigator, Arthur Rivers, told the deputy that it was the third time that the girl had made false complaints of being beaten by her mother. The previous times were in October 1998 and May of this year, according to the report.

Deputy George Phelps notified Assistant State Attorney Ann Corcoran, who he said advised him that he "should" arrest her. Corcoran said Thurday that based on what the officer described to her, she advised him that he "could" arrest the girl.

Assistant State Attorney Jeff Smith, who handles juvenile court cases, said false abuse complaints from juveniles are common. However, he said it is less common that children making fake complaints are charged with a crime.

Smith said he was not familiar with this case. Told that it was allegedly the third false complaint filed by the girl, he said that likely played a part in the decision.

"That was probably it," he said. "The third time's the charm."

Ronda Hemminger Evan, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office, also said such arrests are not common, this one being the first she could recall. And she said that anyone arrested is handcuffed behind the back as a matter of safety policy, regardless of age, size or the seriousness of the crime.

"The placing of hands behind the back is standard procedure," she said. "She was treated as anyone would who is arrested would be treated."

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