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Mother Arrested For Making Her Son Panhandle
September 7, 2012
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman Thursday for allegedly forcing her underage son to panhandle for her at a busy intersection.
Jaime Anne Spicer, age 34 of Pace, was charged with child abuse and booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.
Deputies responded to the area of Davis Highway and Olive Road Thursday morning after receiving several reports of a child holding a sign that read, “Homeless, need help, God Bless.”
Spicer was sitting on a nearby bench while her son stood on the side of the road with his sign. When deputies arrived, Spicer snatched the sign away from her son in an attempt to conceal it.
When deputies questioned Spicer about what she was doing, she told deputies that they were panhandling because she needed money to pay for her motel room. When asked why she attempted to conceal her son’s sign, Spicer told deputies that she was a substitute teacher and did not want to get into any trouble.
The child was turned over to his father, and the Department of Children and Families was notified.
Comments
10 Responses to “Mother Arrested For Making Her Son Panhandle”
Thanks, Governor Scott! This is what your policies have reduced people to.
No Excuses…You are correct. I was definitely referring to the “legitimate panhandling” that parents are teaching their children. How is it okay to stand at Walmart and beg for money to fund whatever but not okay to stand on the sidewalk and ask for money to pay the rent. It is a double standard and I am sick of it…
it was a helpless 9 year old little boy. i know the father of these children & he is a good man! he works all night and would sleep while this citizen done this! everyone was in shock to hear such a thing…. but i ask please pray for these boys and this father! this was a sad sick woman to do this. God will bring them trough this and i pray justice is served on her to the max!!!!!!!!
Poor boy and poor kids she taught, not good decision making skills
I think Sandra is referring to the “legitimate” panhandling by ball teams, cheerleaders, twirlers or any organization that is trying to raise funds for their club. Wal-Mart has to give permission for this activity to take place. However, I am dead set against this practice. It teaches kids to beg, not to work for what they want. A car wash, yard sale, bake sale – anything like that, I would support. But walking up to me and asking me for money? No. It sends the wrong message. Girl Scouts are at least selling a prduct (cookies), so I don’t consder that to be panhandling.
Let me rephrase my last comment.
The cops will tell you they have no jurisdiction on private property unless a felony is being committed and as far as I know panhandling is not a felony.
Joe you are correct. Wal-Mart’s parking lots are private property and if you have an issue with someone panhandling there, then bring it to management’s attention.
I hope that you are aware also that if you have a little fender bender in a private enterprise parking lot that there will not be a traffic investigation. I know this from experience. Someone backed into my car in a parking lot at Cordova Mall some years ago and the police or FHP both said I was on my own. Fortunately for me the lady was honest and share her insurance information and had even notified her insurance company by the time I got home.
The cops will tell you they have no jurisdiction on private property.
Why was the age of the child not listed? I get not releasing his name but I would love to know the age, to see what she thought was appropriate to beg on the streets while she sat on the bench!
I guess the streets are public and walmart is private because there are always folks walking throught the parking lot at walmart asking for money. sometimes even inside the store they will approach you and ask for money, usually children and they disapear as quick as they showed up.
So its okay to have children panhandle outside of Walmart or in the street but not on a sidewalk? Double standard? So its okay to have children panhandle (instead of teaching them to work for money) as long as the cause is not to pay the rent?I feel extremely sad for these people that are forced into these situations.