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December 10, 2003
Leaving The Kids With Dad Is An Improvement?

When I first heard this story, I thought that the police had handled it properly, but then I read it a bit closer:

Four young children and the teenage baby sitters who reportedly took them were found safe inside a South Minneapolis apartment building Tuesday afternoon. Police returned the children to their joyous father around 10:45 p.m. The teenagers, however, faced possible kidnap charges, police said.

The children were returned to their father, and the teenagers have been arrested. A happy ending, you say? Ah, but then you missed this, like I did at first:

Addison had last seen his children Sunday morning as he headed off to church. He left them in the care of longtime baby sitter Benetta Daidii and her friend, Elisha Harris, both 13. The girls lived doors apart in their South Minneapolis neighborhood.

He maintains he made the right decision to leave his children with the pair despite the fact the two were runaways and had taken refuge in his home for the weekend [emphasis mine].

Are you starting to question the father's judgment a bit now? How about the fact that the four children in question were 5, 3, 2, and 1 years old? Would you leave four children that young in the care of any two 13-year-olds, let alone two 13-year-old runaways? If you're still inclined to give Daddy the benefit of the doubt, read on:

Saturday morning the pair began cleaning the house and helping with the children, he said. The girls took the children to McDonald's with his permission, but then took off to the Mall of America, returning about midnight with the children.

An angry Addison scolded the girls. He told them they would need to return to their families Sunday. He had notified Benetta's grandparents, her primary guardians, of her whereabouts and told them she had taken off with the children.

On Sunday morning, the teens weren't ready by the time Addison decided to go to the service. When he returned at 3 p.m., no one was home. By 9 p.m., he called 911 and explained to the dispatcher what had happened and told her he thought they might have gone back to the Mall of America. She told him to talk with Mall of America security.

When he didn't hear from them early Monday, he called 911 again.

So Daddy has the two dear runaways sitting the children on Saturday, and they promptly run off with the children until midnight. Four children under 5 out until midnight with a couple of runaways. When they bring the children home, Daddy tells them that he's going to tell their families where they are and that they will have to go home, but in the meantime, can you watch the kids again?

Either this man is terminally stupid or those girls have something on him. In either case, why would they leave the four kids in his custody? I shudder to think who their next babysitter will be. Michael Jackson?

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at December 10, 2003 10:44 PM

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