This mom took her 15-year-old daughter's phone away for bad behavior. She never thought she could go to jail for her decision.
Charges have been dropped for a mother who confiscated her teenage daughter’s cellphone and faced jail time for her decision.
“I was just being a mom, a concerned parent, and disciplining my daughter,” Jodie May of Grandville, Wis., told local news station 24 Hour News 8 of the iPhone 6 she took from the 15-year-old girl.
May wound up in court when her ex-husband claimed that he owned the cellphone and accused her of theft. According to the news station, the man, whose name wasn’t published, filed a complaint with the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office. May was arrested but was soon released on a $200 bond; she faced a misdemeanor charge of larceny under $200, which would bring months of jail time.
On Tuesday, before the start of her trial, another charge was added: larceny by conversion, also punishable with jail, reported 24 Hour News 8. However, May caught a break when Ottawa County Assistant Prosecutor Sarah Matwiejczyk told the judge, “I’ve had an opportunity to discuss this case with the victim in this case, or at least the person we believed owned the property.”
The true owner of the phone wasn’t the ex-husband; it was May’s daughter.
“The mother defendant being the mother of the minor child, I believe that changes the case significantly,” said Matwiejczyk. “Therefore we’re requesting that the charges be dismissed.” Matwiejczyk did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.
“We knew this was parental discipline,” May’s attorney, Jennifer Kuiper-Weise, told 24 Hour News 8. “We knew that it would come across that way.” She also called the case “not thoroughly vetted.”
May held a stronger opinion about the situation, telling the news outlet, “I think it’s ridiculous. I can’t believe I had to be put through it, my daughter had to be put through it, my family. I’m very surprised, but I’m very happy with the outcome.”
She added, “Mom prevailed.”
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