12-Year-Old Dutch Girl Gives Birth on School Trip
Published March 30, 2011
GRONINGEN, The Netherlands -- A 12-year-old Dutch girl gave birth while on a school trip, sparking a police search Wednesday for the father of the child.
The girl, from Groningen, 114 miles northeast of Amsterdam, complained of stomach pains March 22, during a day out with classmates.
Teachers realized the girl was in labor and called an ambulance. Medics rushed to the scene, and the 12 year old delivered a healthy baby girl in a nearby building. The young mother was then taken to the hospital but has refused to name the father.
Family members said that the schoolgirl's father previously sexually abused another older daughter and served two years in jail for the sex crime, according to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
The girl was living with her father and brother after he won custody following a divorce from their mother, who was originally from Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America.
The girl's stepsister, 30, told the newspaper, "I warned him. I am shocked about what happened."
Dutch police said in a statement Wednesday, "The girl got pregnant when she was 11, which in itself means there has been a criminal offense. Article 244 of the Penal Code, sex with a minor under 12, is punishable. In addition, there are now [circumstances] reported by the Child Protection Board. Taking these two circumstances, the police is now investigating who the father [of this baby] is."
The girl was due to go into foster care once she was released from the hospital.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/03/30/12-year-old-dutch-girl-gives-birth-school-trip/
venerdì 8 aprile 2011
The Case of Stacey Lannert
The Case of Stacey Lannert
By Charles Montaldo, About.com Guide
Stacey Lannert:
On July 4, 1990, in St. John, Missouri, Stacey Ann Lannert, age 18, shot and killed her father, Tom Lannert, who was asleep in the family's home. In her statement to the police, Stacey claimed that her father had sexually abused her. She was arrested, tried, and found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Parents of Stacey Lannert:
Tom Lannert, son of Ken and May Lannert, had an unremarkable childhood. When he got older his relationship with his parents deteriorated. Deborah Lannert was the oldest of five children. At age 11 she was sexually abused by her father. Other members of Deborah's family were also abusers or victims of incestuous sexual abuse.Tom and Deborah met when Deborah was 18 and living at home. After three months of dating they decided to get married.
The Lannert Children:
Stacey was born in 1972 and Christy was born in 1974. The Lannert home was typically middle class. The family moved around a lot until 1979, when they decided to settle in Alhambra, Illinois. Neighbors described the family as quiet people who stayed to themselves.
Childhood Sexual Abuse:
When Stacey was in the third grade her father began sexually abusing her. The abuse accelerated to sexual intercourse, usually occurring when Tom was drunk and Deborah would not allow Tom to sleep with her. Stacey was sworn to secrecy by her father and thought it was something favorite daughters did with their dads. When she was in the eighth grade she realized that what was happening was wrong and not normal and she began avoiding him but this did little but ignite Tom's anger.
Confusion, Shame and Guilt:
Throughout the years of sexual abuse Tom Lannert would become violent toward Stacey when she showed any negative reaction to performing his desired sex acts. He also began performing oral sex on her, sometimes bringing her to a point of sexual climax. This experience left Stacey with overwhelming feelings of guilt, shame and confusion and caused her to escape deep into a 'safe place' she had created inside her mind.
An Unheeded Cry for Help:
The sexual abuse that Stacey suffered did not stay a secret like Tom demanded. Her mother, cousin, her babysitter, and a psychologist suspected that she was being abused. Her mother discovered a blood streaked pair of Stacey's underwear hidden in the basement stairs that led to the television room where Tom often abused Stacey. Deborah would sometimes hear Stacey's cries from the basement but since Tom was downstairs with Stacey she figured Tom would take care of whatever caused the tears.
Deborah and Tom Divorce:
When Stacey was 13, the Lannert's divorced and Deborah left town and remarried, leaving her daughters in Tom's care. With Deborah no longer living in the home, Tom began to drink more and the abuse against Stacey escalated to multiple attacks per week. When Stacey reached her senior year in high school, she dropped out of school and moved to Guam where her mother and step-father lived, even though she did not feel welcomed there. Stacey's sister Christy, age 11, was left behind with Tom.
Desperate Calls from Christy:
Christy dropped out of school and intermittently lived with her father, mother and relatives. In the past, Christy had been physically abused by her father but not sexually assaulted. In phone conversations between the two sisters, Christy began sounding increasingly desperate for Stacey to return home. During one conversation she pleaded for Stacey to return and admitted to her that Tom had assaulted her. Feeling guilt for having left Christy behind with Tom, Stacey returned home to Missouri.
The Conspiracy Begins:
Once home, Tom began forcing himself on Stacey once again. She began to fantasize about her father being gone - dead. Over time her fantasy became an obsessive drive that lead her to try find ways to end his life. She spoke to friends about killing her father or hiring someone to do it for her and of the money she would inherit once he was dead. For her, the ultimate and only solution to a happy future for herself and her sister was money to live on and for Tom to die. She saw no other options.
The Murder:
On the day of the murder Stacey and Christy spent their hours at a fair then got a hotel room later that night. Worried that Tom would kill their puppy, they returned home at 4:15 a.m. to sneak the puppy out. Stacey entered the house through the basement window. In the basement was the rifle Stacey used when learning to shoot. She later confessed that it was at that point that she decided to kill her father.
Tom Lannert was asleep on the couch. Stacey leaned the rifle on a ledge, pointed it at her sleeping father, and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Tom, and broke his collarbone. He jumped up, not knowing he was shot, and told Stacey to call 911. Stacey searched for the phone but was unable to locate it. Tom began berating her for taking so long in getting him help and Stacey began to panic. She later confessed to thinking, 'He doesn't deserve to live' and returned to find him lying back on the couch. She shot him in the head, killing him. She then left the house the same way she had entered, carrying the rifle with her.
The next day she gave the rifle to a friend to get rid of it and then she and another friend returned to her father's house with a plan to make it appear as if she had just returned and discovered his body. After cleaning out her car she called the police. During questioning her friend implicated Stacey and soon after Stacey confessed to the murder. Her dreams of Tom being out of her life forever and of inheriting his estate valued over $100,000, came to an end.
Prior to his murder, Tom Lannert had recently dissolved his consulting business, put his house up for sale, and spoke to neighbors of moving to San Francisco.
http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/lannert.htm
Stacey Lannert's Legal Battle
By Charles Montaldo, About.com Guide
No Defense for Battered Children:
Stacey's defense attorney wanted to admit evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome; defined as the physical, emotional and psychological injuries in a person subjected to abuse by a spouse or domestic partner. Missouri had no provision for this defense to cover battered children. However, Lannert's attorney argued that case law specifically says a battered woman does not have to be a spouse.
The prosecution objected to the defense bringing expert testimony on Battered Spouse Syndrome because the case law states that such evidence can only be admissible if the defendant lawfully acted in self-defense or defense of another. Stacey's lawyer had not shown that Stacey's actions were based on self-defense and the expert testimony was not permitted. Stacey's lawyer then tried to prove that Stacey suffered from a mental disease or defect.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder:
Evidence that Stacey had been subjected to her father's abuse was permitted along with expert testimony on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events, which in Stacey's case would be the violent personal assaults and rape she experienced repeatedly by her father.
Reliving the Nightmares:
People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough to significantly impair the person's daily life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.
The Prosecution's Case:
The prosecution's case included experts who testified that Stacey was in full control of her actions when she shot her father and knew the difference of right from wrong, proving she was not legally insane at the time of the shooting.
Self Defense Could Not Be Proved:
Because Stacey's father was asleep when she shot him, the defense could not prove that Stacey was in any immediate physical danger, therefore the trial court refused to instruct the jury on self-defense.
The jury, unable to consider self-defense or hear argument for Battered Spouse Syndrome, considered Stacey to be the 'aggressor' and agreed with the prosecution that the defense had failed to prove Stacey was mentally ill at the time that she killed her father.
The Verdict:
In late 1992, Stacey Lannert was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole.
Christy Lannert:
Christy Lannert confessed to conspiring to commit murder and was sentenced to five years in prison. She was released after serving two and a half years.
Current Status of Stacey's Legal Battles:
Stacey Lannert has exhausted all of her legal appeals. She currently has a clemency petition pending before Governor Matt Blunt who took office in January 2005. A decision could come at any time.
The Court of Appeals Eighth District Reluctantly Concurs :
The Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit that reviewed Stacey Lannert's case stated the following:
The 'absence of aggression or provocation on the part of the defender' element of the Missouri self-defense statute does not articulate a time frame during which the initial act of aggression and the act of self-defense must occur. It is therefore deeply troubling that the jury was not completely informed of the scope of the abuse Lannert suffered, her fear, or her rage that her sister may also have been victimized by their father. This evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome might have placed Lannert's actions in proper context, and may have allowed a jury to conclude that Lannert was not the initial aggressor on the night of her father's death, potentially resulting in a very different outcome than what she faces today. Because the Missouri courts have the authority to interpret the state's Battered Spouse Syndrome statute, however, I reluctantly concur. CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
Stacey Lannert has been a model prisoner during the last 11 years of her incarceration. Currently, along with other things, she trains dogs to go into the homes of the handicapped and works with other inmates who are victims of child abuse.
Update
On Jan. 16, 2009, Stacey Lannert was released from prison. Former Governor Matt Blunt believed that Lannert was sexually abused by her father and commuted her life sentence to 20 years. She was released after serving 18 years.
http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/lannert2.htm
By Charles Montaldo, About.com Guide
Stacey Lannert:
On July 4, 1990, in St. John, Missouri, Stacey Ann Lannert, age 18, shot and killed her father, Tom Lannert, who was asleep in the family's home. In her statement to the police, Stacey claimed that her father had sexually abused her. She was arrested, tried, and found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Parents of Stacey Lannert:
Tom Lannert, son of Ken and May Lannert, had an unremarkable childhood. When he got older his relationship with his parents deteriorated. Deborah Lannert was the oldest of five children. At age 11 she was sexually abused by her father. Other members of Deborah's family were also abusers or victims of incestuous sexual abuse.Tom and Deborah met when Deborah was 18 and living at home. After three months of dating they decided to get married.
The Lannert Children:
Stacey was born in 1972 and Christy was born in 1974. The Lannert home was typically middle class. The family moved around a lot until 1979, when they decided to settle in Alhambra, Illinois. Neighbors described the family as quiet people who stayed to themselves.
Childhood Sexual Abuse:
When Stacey was in the third grade her father began sexually abusing her. The abuse accelerated to sexual intercourse, usually occurring when Tom was drunk and Deborah would not allow Tom to sleep with her. Stacey was sworn to secrecy by her father and thought it was something favorite daughters did with their dads. When she was in the eighth grade she realized that what was happening was wrong and not normal and she began avoiding him but this did little but ignite Tom's anger.
Confusion, Shame and Guilt:
Throughout the years of sexual abuse Tom Lannert would become violent toward Stacey when she showed any negative reaction to performing his desired sex acts. He also began performing oral sex on her, sometimes bringing her to a point of sexual climax. This experience left Stacey with overwhelming feelings of guilt, shame and confusion and caused her to escape deep into a 'safe place' she had created inside her mind.
An Unheeded Cry for Help:
The sexual abuse that Stacey suffered did not stay a secret like Tom demanded. Her mother, cousin, her babysitter, and a psychologist suspected that she was being abused. Her mother discovered a blood streaked pair of Stacey's underwear hidden in the basement stairs that led to the television room where Tom often abused Stacey. Deborah would sometimes hear Stacey's cries from the basement but since Tom was downstairs with Stacey she figured Tom would take care of whatever caused the tears.
Deborah and Tom Divorce:
When Stacey was 13, the Lannert's divorced and Deborah left town and remarried, leaving her daughters in Tom's care. With Deborah no longer living in the home, Tom began to drink more and the abuse against Stacey escalated to multiple attacks per week. When Stacey reached her senior year in high school, she dropped out of school and moved to Guam where her mother and step-father lived, even though she did not feel welcomed there. Stacey's sister Christy, age 11, was left behind with Tom.
Desperate Calls from Christy:
Christy dropped out of school and intermittently lived with her father, mother and relatives. In the past, Christy had been physically abused by her father but not sexually assaulted. In phone conversations between the two sisters, Christy began sounding increasingly desperate for Stacey to return home. During one conversation she pleaded for Stacey to return and admitted to her that Tom had assaulted her. Feeling guilt for having left Christy behind with Tom, Stacey returned home to Missouri.
The Conspiracy Begins:
Once home, Tom began forcing himself on Stacey once again. She began to fantasize about her father being gone - dead. Over time her fantasy became an obsessive drive that lead her to try find ways to end his life. She spoke to friends about killing her father or hiring someone to do it for her and of the money she would inherit once he was dead. For her, the ultimate and only solution to a happy future for herself and her sister was money to live on and for Tom to die. She saw no other options.
The Murder:
On the day of the murder Stacey and Christy spent their hours at a fair then got a hotel room later that night. Worried that Tom would kill their puppy, they returned home at 4:15 a.m. to sneak the puppy out. Stacey entered the house through the basement window. In the basement was the rifle Stacey used when learning to shoot. She later confessed that it was at that point that she decided to kill her father.
Tom Lannert was asleep on the couch. Stacey leaned the rifle on a ledge, pointed it at her sleeping father, and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Tom, and broke his collarbone. He jumped up, not knowing he was shot, and told Stacey to call 911. Stacey searched for the phone but was unable to locate it. Tom began berating her for taking so long in getting him help and Stacey began to panic. She later confessed to thinking, 'He doesn't deserve to live' and returned to find him lying back on the couch. She shot him in the head, killing him. She then left the house the same way she had entered, carrying the rifle with her.
The next day she gave the rifle to a friend to get rid of it and then she and another friend returned to her father's house with a plan to make it appear as if she had just returned and discovered his body. After cleaning out her car she called the police. During questioning her friend implicated Stacey and soon after Stacey confessed to the murder. Her dreams of Tom being out of her life forever and of inheriting his estate valued over $100,000, came to an end.
Prior to his murder, Tom Lannert had recently dissolved his consulting business, put his house up for sale, and spoke to neighbors of moving to San Francisco.
http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/lannert.htm
Stacey Lannert's Legal Battle
By Charles Montaldo, About.com Guide
No Defense for Battered Children:
Stacey's defense attorney wanted to admit evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome; defined as the physical, emotional and psychological injuries in a person subjected to abuse by a spouse or domestic partner. Missouri had no provision for this defense to cover battered children. However, Lannert's attorney argued that case law specifically says a battered woman does not have to be a spouse.
The prosecution objected to the defense bringing expert testimony on Battered Spouse Syndrome because the case law states that such evidence can only be admissible if the defendant lawfully acted in self-defense or defense of another. Stacey's lawyer had not shown that Stacey's actions were based on self-defense and the expert testimony was not permitted. Stacey's lawyer then tried to prove that Stacey suffered from a mental disease or defect.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder:
Evidence that Stacey had been subjected to her father's abuse was permitted along with expert testimony on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events, which in Stacey's case would be the violent personal assaults and rape she experienced repeatedly by her father.
Reliving the Nightmares:
People who suffer from PTSD often relive the experience through nightmares and flashbacks, feel detached or estranged, and these symptoms can be severe enough to significantly impair the person's daily life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.
The Prosecution's Case:
The prosecution's case included experts who testified that Stacey was in full control of her actions when she shot her father and knew the difference of right from wrong, proving she was not legally insane at the time of the shooting.
Self Defense Could Not Be Proved:
Because Stacey's father was asleep when she shot him, the defense could not prove that Stacey was in any immediate physical danger, therefore the trial court refused to instruct the jury on self-defense.
The jury, unable to consider self-defense or hear argument for Battered Spouse Syndrome, considered Stacey to be the 'aggressor' and agreed with the prosecution that the defense had failed to prove Stacey was mentally ill at the time that she killed her father.
The Verdict:
In late 1992, Stacey Lannert was convicted of first-degree murder and received the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of probation or parole.
Christy Lannert:
Christy Lannert confessed to conspiring to commit murder and was sentenced to five years in prison. She was released after serving two and a half years.
Current Status of Stacey's Legal Battles:
Stacey Lannert has exhausted all of her legal appeals. She currently has a clemency petition pending before Governor Matt Blunt who took office in January 2005. A decision could come at any time.
The Court of Appeals Eighth District Reluctantly Concurs :
The Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit that reviewed Stacey Lannert's case stated the following:
The 'absence of aggression or provocation on the part of the defender' element of the Missouri self-defense statute does not articulate a time frame during which the initial act of aggression and the act of self-defense must occur. It is therefore deeply troubling that the jury was not completely informed of the scope of the abuse Lannert suffered, her fear, or her rage that her sister may also have been victimized by their father. This evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome might have placed Lannert's actions in proper context, and may have allowed a jury to conclude that Lannert was not the initial aggressor on the night of her father's death, potentially resulting in a very different outcome than what she faces today. Because the Missouri courts have the authority to interpret the state's Battered Spouse Syndrome statute, however, I reluctantly concur. CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.
Stacey Lannert has been a model prisoner during the last 11 years of her incarceration. Currently, along with other things, she trains dogs to go into the homes of the handicapped and works with other inmates who are victims of child abuse.
Update
On Jan. 16, 2009, Stacey Lannert was released from prison. Former Governor Matt Blunt believed that Lannert was sexually abused by her father and commuted her life sentence to 20 years. She was released after serving 18 years.
http://crime.about.com/od/female_offenders/p/lannert2.htm
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