Bubbaworld

At about 2:50 a.m. on March 14, 2007 a motorist in Muskogee, Ok spotted a three-year-old boy wandering barefoot on Honor Heights Drive. Teresa Hughes who spotted the boy, said at first she thought it was an animal in the road and then realized to her shock it was a child. Hughes waited with the child while police sought the boy’s home.

At about 1:30 p.m. on March 14, 2007 a motorist in Warner, OK spotted a two-year-old boy wandering near or on Oklahoma 2, a five-lane highway that crosses through Warner. Thankfully the motorist picked the child up and took him to safety.

Okay, pretty simple isn’t it?

In both of these instances little children were out wandering about unsupervised and ‘in traffic’, one in the middle of the night, the other in the middle of the day.

In both of these instances adults that were supposed to be watching out for these children failed miserably, putting the children at grave risk.

A reasonable person might expect that the full force of the law would be brought to bear on those responsible, and rightfully so. Unfortunately what seems reasonable and right are not always what happens. Especially in Oklahoma.

In both of these instances of obvious child neglect the Muskogee County District Attorney’s office initially indicated charges were expected against the responsible parties and once again rightfully so. Then things took a very strange turn toward double standards.

In one case, that involving the two-year-old, the child’s mother Amanda Wiggs, 30, of Warner, OK has been charged with child abuse on the allegation that she left the child alone and that he wandered out of the house and made his way to the highway. For reference see Muskogee Phoenix report Warner woman faces child abuse, drug charges dated 3/22/07.

In the second case, that involving the three-year-old, the DA’s office was originally reported as stating that charges would likely be filed against the foster parents entrusted by Oklahoma DHS with the care of the child. For reference see Muskogee Phoenix report 3-year-old found wandering street at night dated 3/16/07.

In this report, Assistant District Attorney Nikki Baker Dotson, said allowing a 3-year-old to wander the streets at night — even unintentionally — is not acceptable.

The report quoted Dotson as stating, The district attorney’s office likes to support foster parents and those who step up to help with children who have to be taken out of a bad situation. But you have to hold them to the same standard as everybody else.

By 3/22/07 the decision had been made by the DA’s office that no charges would be filed against the foster parents of the 3-year-old. For reference see Muskogee Phoenix report No charges against foster parents.

In this report, Assistant District Attorney Nikki Baker Dotson, was quoted as stating, Just looking at the initial report, we didn’t know a lot of the details. But after stepping back and looking at it, we decided the facts didn’t warrant charges.

This report indicated that according to Dotson, the foster parents have worked with DHS for some time and have no history of any complaints. Citing confidentiality rules, Dotson declined to provide further details about the case. She did, however, say there were reasonable explanations about how the child was able to get out of the house at night without the knowledge of the foster parents.

This is where the story would be left, were it not for another report. One by Sheila Stogsdill of The Oklahoman. This latter report provides much greater detail, additional quotes from ADA Dotson and some explanation of how the child ‘escaped’ the home in the middle of the night. For reference see Foster parents of wandering toddler won’t be charged dated 03/22/07.

From Stogsdill’s report we learn that the unidentified foster parents are in their 60’s, have worked for DHS for about 5 years and have received no previous complaints. We also learn that the child exited the home through a door that is typically locked and secured by a deadbolt and an alarm.

From Stogsdill’s report we also learned that the deadbolt wasn’t working, the alarm wasn’t set because of weatherizing work being performed on the house and that the foster parents had already made plans for the deadbolt to be fixed the next day.

The report indicates ADA Dotson said the state doesn’t mandate foster parents have an alarm which shows just shows how dedicated the foster parents are. The report further indicated that Dotson said the incident didn’t constitute neglect.

In Oklahoma, Districts Attorney have and delegate to their assistants prosecutorial discretion, the authority to decide who is and who is not prosecuted for crimes they allegedly commit. In this case, the DA’s office refusing to file charges is both legal and absolute. Everyone concerned about child welfare is however entitled to decide for themselves if what is legal is what is right.

Commentary and Opinion

Assistant District Attorney Nikki Baker Dotson is a good prosecutor. We have acknowledged her skills and dedication to obtaining justice for abused children on Bubbaworld before. But, if she is the person that made the decision to forego charges in this case, she blew it and blew it big time.

Dodson’s statements contained in The Oklahoman report and offering excuses for why charges were not filed are in and of themselves reasons why charges should have been filed.

The admissions that the foster parents were aware that the deadbolt lock and alarm were not working on the very night the child wandered off indicate they were aware of the potential dangers.

Otherwise why would they have made arrangements to have the deadbolt repaired or replaced the following day?

That the foster parents ‘went the extra mile’ to provide an alarm in the first place indicates their awareness of the potential dangers of small children wandering off.

In spite of their obvious knowledge of the risks, the foster parents did not make alternate arrangements to protect the child on THAT NIGHT, demonstrating a disregard for the welfare of the child entrusted to them and that in and of itself IS negligence.

That these foster parents are normally attentive to the risks and take steps to protect against them on all other nights is not an excuse for not taking whatever steps were necessary to protect the child on that night. Just as Amanda Wiggs not neglecting her child on other days is not an excuse to neglect him on THAT DAY.

Charges should have been filed in both of these cases, then a jury and court would get to decide if these cases constitute legitimate neglect and abuse. By refusing to file charges in the one case while aggressively going after the accused in the other the Muskogee County DA’s office is not only presenting the appearance of double standards, it is actively engaging in double standards in two very similar cases occurring on the same day.

It is obvious that in spite of ADA Dodson’s claim that “you have to hold them to the same standard as everybody else”, the same standards did not apply in the case of these foster parents in the employ of the Oklahoma DHS.

Leaving us to question, why is that?