News & Politics - Parents use shock collar on girl

SweetLisaLisa · 04-17-2004, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Wis. Couple Accused of Abusing Daughter
By ROBERT IMRIE

MAUSTON, Wis. (AP) - A couple accused of forcing their 17-year-old daughter to wear an electric shock collar used to train dogs were ordered Friday to stand trial on child abuse charges. The daughter testified by video conference last week that her mother and stepfather used the dog collar at its highest setting. The girl said her mother used it to get her to clean faster or ``if she didn't like what I was doing.''

The teenager testified she was hit in the face by her parents, forced to sleep in a dirty basement or next to a dog kennel and forced to drink a half-gallon of ``sewer water'' as a form of discipline.

The couple were charged March 17 after the girl called a friend and asked to meet her at the end of the home's driveway, where she handed over a note alleging the abuse.

Attorneys for the couple, Lee Ann and Troy Miller, have denied the girl's allegations, saying she had a history of making false accusations.

On Friday, a judge ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to justify a trial.

The Millers, who have four children, are charged with felonies including physical abuse of a child, mental harm to a child, possession of an electric weapon, reckless endangerment and false imprisonment.

The charges carry a maximum punishment of about 200 years in prison.

Attorneys for the parents said they will plead innocent.

04/17/04 00:04

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ros2nz · 04-18-2004, 05:09 AM

That is just sick. If people don't want kids, why the hell have them? [img]smilies/redface.gif[/img]

idork · 04-18-2004, 07:16 AM

Oh my gosh. Unbelievable. Half a gallon of...ugh. What horrible people. I shouldn't read these things, it makes me too pissed off/sad.

~* Blue Angel *~ · 04-18-2004, 07:44 AM

That's horrific. It reminds me of David Peltzer (Sp?) who wrote that book, 'A child called It". It sickens me, it really does. I mean, did it just suddenly hit them one day, "I know, today as a step up from the last punishment, we'll buy an eletric dog collar and stick it on our daughter". It's just absolutely disgusting how some people's minds work.

*Lauren · 04-18-2004, 09:26 AM

Wait, people use those things on their DOGS? I think we're all in full agreement that to use that on a person is horrific, but they're legal to sell? On a DOG? That's horrible!

~* Blue Angel *~ · 04-18-2004, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Lauren:
<STRONG>Wait, people use those things on their DOGS? I think we're all in full agreement that to use that on a person is horrific, but they're legal to sell? On a DOG? That's horrible!</STRONG>

Yeah, I agree. I was going to say it's bad enough that they're being sold to people for use on animals. I would never dream of putting one of my dog to "train" her into doing something [img]smilies/mad.gif[/img]

Bill bobidy · 04-18-2004, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Attorneys for the couple, Lee Ann and Troy Miller, have denied the girl's allegations, saying she had a history of making false accusations.

This really should be the key point.

Did it even happen? WAS it all fabricated - in which case I'm pretty dissapointed in some membersa of this forum- or did it really happen.

Why is being judged by media so cool?

It's always the same people who say we shouldn't believe everythin we hear in the media.

Well done folks.

Course, teenagers are never taken seriously till they are the "alleged" victim in a paper.

Christ, get a grip and stop judging people by what they are alleged to have done, If they get off scott free it's idiots that buy into the press that'll still judge them.

Here's one for you all.

The poster above me abuses sheep. I heard it from a good source.

**TheAngel** · 04-18-2004, 11:18 AM

While I agree that using the collar on a human is an act of abuse, I have used shock collars on dogs. They are not a abusive as you seem to believe. They are used along with invisible fence systems to keep them inside the yard. If a dog gets too close to the wire they buzz. Normally at that point the dog turns around but if not a small shock is delivered. It doesn't harm the dog and does keep them inside the yard for some dogs. Dogs with more skin on their necks, heavier fur, or bigger dogs can often times not even feel the shock and go right on through which is one problem we had with one dog who was later hit by a car.
The shock the dog recieves is equal to a static electric shock a human recieves by touching a doorknob. It is meant to startle more than to harm.

Katis · 04-18-2004, 11:43 AM

Bill - This board is for posting news. That story was a news article. We can't simply decide not to discuss things because they might possibly be fabricated. That could apply to anything and this board would have little purpose.

Bill bobidy · 04-18-2004, 12:48 PM

sorry but I dissagree.

Course News and politics are to be debated in here but to judge and condemn someone on just ONE report is nuts.

If it's constuctive then sure go ahead and make some points but all I see is people looking to target the first possible person the police want to arrest.

This is exactly the kind of thing that ruins lives and is why we should never know a persons identity before they are found guilty.

If people get different sources on something that has been judged then fine but as has been shown right here they don't.

I could post something derogetory about anyone I know and some people will sap it up like it's a fact.

Sorry if you feel that people who are judged by the press are in fact guilty but I thought the whole innocent until proven guilty concept actually meant something in any civilised area.

*Lauren · 04-18-2004, 08:27 PM

I can understand the shock at the end of the yard, cause that's trying to save them, but not around the neck. Its baraberic. If we wouldn't do it to a human, why is it acceptable to do it to an animal?

Charlize'sAngel · 04-18-2004, 08:34 PM

I would never use these collars on any dog, much less on a human being. There are other ways to discipline someone which do not involve physical inflictions.
As for the girl fabricating the allegations, I guess it's possible since the couple have three other children and there's nothing to indicate that they are being abused as well...

[ 04-18-2004: Message edited Charlize'sAngel ]

Sofa · 04-18-2004, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill bobidy:
<STRONG>sorry but I dissagree.

Course News and politics are to be debated in here but to judge and condemn someone on just ONE report is nuts.

If it's constuctive then sure go ahead and make some points but all I see is people looking to target the first possible person the police want to arrest.

This is exactly the kind of thing that ruins lives and is why we should never know a persons identity before they are found guilty.

If people get different sources on something that has been judged then fine but as has been shown right here they don't.

I could post something derogetory about anyone I know and some people will sap it up like it's a fact.

Sorry if you feel that people who are judged by the press are in fact guilty but I thought the whole innocent until proven guilty concept actually meant something in any civilised area.</STRONG>

I think that you're blowing this out of proportion. This is a discussion forum where people discuss issues. They are not making judgements on anyone. They are basing their opinions on what is being told to them. I don't see why this should bother you in anyway. I understand that you are stating your opinion just like anyone else, but you don't have to criticize other's views. They are entitled to their views just as you are to yours. Just like you are getting mad at people here that are "assuming" this article is true, you are assuming it's not. Let's discuss by what we read and until further info nothing can be assumed. No need for aggresive posts anyway, it intimidates people on the boards.

Sofa

Katis · 04-18-2004, 08:40 PM

Of course it is possible she fabricated it. Unfortunately it is also possible that she did not. This kind of abuse would probably have left marks, which would have been noted by social services. It isn't as if this kind of abuse does not happen. Just because something is not picked up by a dozen major newspapers does not mean it is not true or that it is not entitled to being discussed.

*Lauren · 04-18-2004, 09:02 PM

Quote:

I guess it's possible since the couple have three other children and there's nothing to indicate that they are being abused as well...

Have you read the book "A Child Called It"? The man who wrote that story, was abused extinislvy by his mother (which sounds simillar to this girl in what's happened to her. Sleeping in a dark, cold basement, no blankets, drinking dirty water), yet his brothers weren't abused at all. (physically) It is possible.