The law is there for a reason, and if it’s broken the appropriate authorities have to act accordingly – but this latest case of child abuse, from the US, has split opinion online.
Eyebrows have been raised after it was revealed how 43-year-old mum Julie Mall was arrested and charged with child abuse – for allowing her 11-year-old son to drive a golf cart.
According to The Charlotte Observer, which contacted the North Carolina mum after hearing her story, the incident occurred during a family holiday to Bald Head Island.
Islanders use golf carts instead of cars, and you need to be 16 and hold a valid driver’s licence in order to be legally fit to drive a cart.
While Julie admitted that she knew it was wrong to let her 11-year-old off in the cart, she didn’t think it would be too big a deal, as her husband was riding in the seat next to him and it was only over a short distance.
The duo were reportedly spotted by local Police Officer James Hunter, who approached the family and called out Julie and her husband for breaking the law.
When Julie refused to give the officer her hands to be arrested, she claims that the officer was unnecessarily heavy-handed with her. Indeed, she was later examined in hospital and told she had suffered injuries consistent with whiplash during her arrest.
From Officer Hunter’s recollection, however, Julie and her husband were ‘drunk and aggressive’ towards him – leading him to file charges of not just child abuse but also resisting a public officer.
Julie was placed in a cell, then released the following day. The charges against her were dropped – but only because Officer Hunter failed to show up to the court proceedings.
While Julie did not choose to go public with her story, she agreed to speak to The Charlotte Observer so that she could ‘put it on record, in case it happens to someone else’.
This is undoubtedly a unique case, with very different testimonies, but the reaction from social media is pretty one-sided: few will be recreating Julie’s journey to Bald Head Island anytime soon!
“Classic police response: hyper-aggressiveness,” wrote one Twitter user, while another insisted he would not be going back to Bald Head Island ‘ever’.
What are your thoughts?
