Mr Burch added that the woman had 'not one iota of enthusiasm,' for the sexual relationship with her son. Referring to 'plaguing persevering messages' from her son, Mr Burch said: "Not once had any of the ideas come from her. "In her previous, abusive, relationship, she was subject to physical violence and made to engage in sexual acts she did not want to." "She is vulnerable for a number of reasons. "She had no enthusiasm for the conduct and was ashamed and contrite," he added. Simon Burch, representing the woman, said her child has 'instigated' the sexual offending. The boy later told police he 'got pleasure from those activities'.
"This happened more than once, but less than six times." "He would wear a t-shirt, nothing else," prosecutor Stephen Dent said. Her sentencing hearing was told the sordid details of the crime, in which she spanked the boy with a paddle and dressed up in knickers, bra and boots as he wanted. Gloucester Crown Court heard how the woman went along with the teenager's demands out of motherly love as she pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual activity with the boy. The 50-year-old woman, who cannot be named, was told by a judge she had "clearly breached her obligation as a mother" as she was handed the suspended sentence. The court denied our petition Monday – but our fight is not over.A mum who claimed she had sexual relations with her 15-year-old son because he seduced her has avoided jail. I don’t accept that answer, I don’t believe that’s what my kids deserve and, most important of all, I want my kids to live in a world where people with guns and power are held to the same standards as the rest of society. So we partnered with the Institute for Justice and asked the U.S. Regardless of these kind words, the event happened, the boys were traumatized and the system in essence told them, “Sorry, guys, sometimes bad stuff just happens and nobody is held accountable.” It's worth noting the 8th Circuit’s decision said my sons "acted bravely, respectfully, and responsibly throughout the encounter, and their family would rightly be proud of them. Likewise, their family acted responsibly and respectfully during what would have undoubtedly been a frightening experience." The court denied Marzolf's motion, but he appealed the qualified immunity issue to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the lower court's decision and, in essence, shielded Marzolf from liability for his actions. In essence, qualified immunity means officers are shielded from civil liability for their actions unless their conduct was egregious and violated a clearly established constitutional right. If the story I outlined above isn’t “egregious” or a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights, I’m just not sure what would ever rise to that level. We turned to the courts for justiceĪfter this horrific event, I filed a lawsuit in federal court against Marzolf to vindicate the rights of my kids, to let them know what happened wasn’t right, and to try and ensure this sort of traumatic event doesn’t happen to anyone else’s children.Īfter the lawsuit began, Marzolf filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity.
When officer Lamont Marzolf encountered my kids, who were just 12 and 14 at the time, he could have acted in a professional manner, asked them some questions, and it would have been readily apparent (1) they didn’t come close to matching the description of the suspects, and (2) they were just young kids walking back to their mom’s house after spending time with their grandparents.ĭespite every conceivable fact pointing to the conclusion that Marzolf had the wrong people, my kids had a weapon pointed at them, were forced to the ground, handcuffed and searched – and had their trust in law enforcement betrayed. On this cold, rainy night the boys had spent the evening with their grandparents and were walking the short distance back to my house. This walk home turned into a nightmare that still haunts them to this day because an inexperienced police officer in Springdale, Arkansas, overreacted to a dispatch report about some alleged gang members who had fled during a traffic stop earlier that evening. 8, 2018, when they were stopped at gunpoint, forced to lie on the ground, handcuffed and searched. My boys were taught that the police officers who protect and serve our communities are to be respected and trusted.