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\nSometimes, it seems as though no matter what we do, our parents are there to stand in our way of fun. Although getting grounded, banned from going out with our friends, or having something taken away might seem like the end of the world at the time, the chances are that our parents only have our best interests at heart. So what about when this mom was nearly jailed for taking away her daughter\u2019s cell phone? It looked like this was one punishment that was about to go too far.
\n[post_page_title]A whole new punishment[\/post_page_title]
\nThere are many ways that parents decide to punish their kids for doing something wrong. Whether it\u2019s getting grounded for the weekend or having to do extra dishes, it seems as though there is no end to the possible ways we can learn our lesson.
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\nHowever, one punishment was about to see someone almost land a spot in jail. Could this mom taking away her daughter\u2019s cell phone really put her behind bars? It looked as though someone certainly thought so.
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\n[post_page_title]Another typical day[\/post_page_title]
\nIt was a typical day in the May household back in April 2018. Jodie was waiting at home for her 15-year-old daughter to return from school. Little did she know, but her daughter was about to break some news from her day.
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\nIt turned out the teen had gotten herself in trouble at school. Jodie couldn\u2019t believe it and knew there was only one thing to do: she had to think of a suitable punishment. There was no way she could let her daughter get away with bad behavior, right?
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\n[post_page_title]Taking a turn[\/post_page_title]
\nMany of us have had our phones taken away from us at some point, and it seems to be an ever growing popular choice for modern day parents as more and more youngsters have access to cell phones.
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\nHowever, this parent was about to become the talk of the town as this mom was nearly jailed for taking away her daughter\u2019s cell phone. Could one simple move really land her a spot in jail? It looked like Jodie was going to have to pack a bag if she wanted to make it out the other side.
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\n[post_page_title]Playing the parent[\/post_page_title]
\nIt seemed as though everything was about to go from bad to worse for those in the May household. Jodie claimed in an interview with FOX News that \u201cI was just being a mom, a concerned parent, and disciplining my daughter.\u201d
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\nHow could one move of taking away a cell phone now see the mom get treated like a criminal? Jodie wanted to prove to the world that she was doing the right thing; there was no way she should be in handcuffs getting escorted to a police car.
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\n[post_page_title]A confusing phone call[\/post_page_title]
\nSo how could Jodie\u2019s moves have seen the police knocking at her door? It turned out it was nothing to do with her 15-year-old daughter but was actually down to her ex-husband.
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\nHer daughter had contacted her dad after receiving the punishment, but never thought it would lead to her mom behind bars. Jodie\u2019s ex claimed she had stolen the phone as he was the one to purchase it making him the rightful owner. Somehow, things were about to get even worse for Jodie.
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\n[post_page_title]Another mouth to feed[\/post_page_title]
\nJodie\u2019s teenage daughter wasn\u2019t the only child in the house. Jodie was now taking to a police officer as she tried to explain there was a four-week-old baby inside the house. That wasn\u2019t all.
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\nThe little one was still nursing from their mom and hadn\u2019t taken to a bottle just yet. They had to be together, but the police officer was having none of it. Jodie was forced to think on her feet as she tried to find a way to protect her youngster from the horror of it all.
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\n[post_page_title]From bad to worse[\/post_page_title]
\nThe mom soon came up with an idea. Jodie begged the police officer to let her hand herself in the following day once she had made arrangements from someone to care for her baby.
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\nShe had plenty of people that would be able to help; Jodie just needed to contact them. Unfortunately, the police officer demanded that Jodie left the house immediately, leaving behind her young newborn. The whole situation was quickly turning into a nightmare.
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\n[post_page_title]Cuffed and booked[\/post_page_title]
\nJodie was hauled off to the station where she was treated like one of the worst offending criminals of the state. The mom was interviewed for hours, and Jodie was forced to stand for mugshots from all angles to be put on her record.
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\nHow could this all have happened after taking one cell phone? Jodie was beginning to wonder who had the right to tell her how she could discipline her daughter. That was for later. Now, Jodie needed to find a way to get out of jail.
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\n[post_page_title]Checking all the facts[\/post_page_title]
\nThere was nothing more Jodie could do than to repeat her story over and over again. However, the police were confident it was a misdemeanor case that needed to be thoroughly checked out before they could send Jodie on her way.
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\nThe police believed they had collected enough evidence and were willing to let Jodie walk free if she could pay the $200 bail. Sadly, that wouldn\u2019t be the end of the case. Jodie would have to return to court.
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\n[post_page_title]More bad news in court[\/post_page_title]
\nThe case was about to drag on longer than anyone thought possible as Jodie didn\u2019t find herself heading to court until five months after she was officially arrested. As if getting accused of stealing wasn\u2019t enough already, it turned out the court had even more news for Jodie as soon as she arrived.
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\nThere were two charges being brought against her. One was for the stealing, while the other was accusing Jodie of taking the phone to use as her own. If she was found guilty, Jodie could be sent to jail for 93 days.
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\n[post_page_title]Inappropriate messages[\/post_page_title]
\nThis isn\u2019t the first time that a parent has been taken to court over taking their child\u2019s smartphone as a punishment. Ronald Jackson was caring for his 12-year-old daughter when he noticed a text message that he deemed inappropriate.
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\nRonald immediately confiscated the cell only to get a call from his ex-partner, Michelle Steppe. Michelle has since married a local police officer, and now there were men in uniform standing on Ronald\u2019s porch. How could this be happening?
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\n[post_page_title]Heading behind bars[\/post_page_title]
\nThe police officers requested that Ronald return the iPhone 4. However, Ronald had other ideas. He believed that he should be able to choose how he parented his daughter and not be scared by Michelle\u2019s husband\u2019s friends.
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\nThree months passed and Ronald still held onto the phone. Michelle had enough and filed a theft charge against her ex. This time, the police arrived to arrest Ronald and take him to court. The father could now be facing huge charges.
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\n[post_page_title]Years of battling[\/post_page_title]
\nRonald appeared at court, but it looked as though the judge was willing to hear him out. In fact, the judge ordered that Ronald be found \u2018not guilty\u2019 of his alleged crimes and be set free.
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\nIt took three years of battles, but the court felt as though there was insufficient evidence to charge Ronald. Michelle disagrees with the charge and feels as though Ronald should have been forced to pay. Unfortunately, Ronald has since grown apart from his daughter and ex-partner.
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\n[post_page_title]Trying to stay positive[\/post_page_title]
\nJodie knew there was no way that she could be found guilty of stealing her daughter\u2019s phone. After all, the cell had been a gift from her ex-husband meaning there was no way it could still be his, right?
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\nUnfortunately, as the day of court rolled around, Jodie was more and more worried that she wouldn\u2019t be walking away a free woman. Although Jodie was panicking, some news was about to shake the courtroom and change the entire outcome of the case.
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\n[post_page_title]Important news[\/post_page_title]
\nThe prosecution walked into the courtroom with important news. They had spoken with Jodie\u2019s ex who they deemed as the victim of the crime and had come to an agreement.
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\nIt turned out that the ex admitted the phone was no longer his and was, in fact, his daughter\u2019s after all. Jodie had a right to take it away this entire time. The outcome of the whole case immediately changed as the prosecution dropped all charges meaning it could get thrown out of court.
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\n[post_page_title]Refusing to talk[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough the case was now over, it looked as though the prosecution had enough of the news for one day. FOX News tried to get an interview with Sarah Matwiejczyk only to have her admit she had nothing to say on the case.
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\nEveryone wanted to know how the prosecution believed they could charge a mom with stealing when she was merely trying to teach her daughter right from wrong. It looked as though everyone knew the case was an incredible mistake.
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\n[post_page_title]The voice of reason[\/post_page_title]
\nThankfully, Jodie had Jennifer Kuiper-Weise next to her as her defense attorney. The voice of calm from Jennifer explained she had already tried to have the charges dropped against her client before they even entered the courtroom.
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\nShe believed that Jodie was correct in taking her daughter\u2019s cell phone, but the judge wanted it to go to a trial. There was no worry. Jennifer was ready for whatever fight was about to come her way. They didn\u2019t have to wait long to prove that Jodie was innocent.
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\n[post_page_title]Acting without the facts[\/post_page_title]
\nJennifer added how she knew the court would have seen that Jodie was merely using her parental discipline and not trying to steal the cell phone.
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\nThankfully, she never had to stand up and present her case as the ex-husband realized he was in the wrong. Jennifer continued to explain the case was authorized on a probable cause basis. However, it had never been investigated properly as the police never saw all the facts before making the arrest.
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\n[post_page_title]Getting his own back[\/post_page_title]
\nBoth Jodie and Jennifer agree they feel as though Jodie\u2019s ex-husband cared more about the cell phone throughout the entire trial than his daughter ever did. It seemed he might have had ulterior motives behind his actions.
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\nAs if that wasn\u2019t enough, his actions gave many people the impression he wasn\u2019t thinking about anything else throughout the trial other than getting back at his ex-wife. The story has shown that it seems as if he should have stepped back to think about the damage he was causing at the time.
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\n[post_page_title]Keeping track of them all[\/post_page_title]
\nThe police receive thousands of calls every single day, and many worry that not all of the cases are thoroughly investigated before they make arrests. However, with so many calls, is there any way to ever check all the facts before brandishing the handcuffs?
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\nSome people believe the police find it easier to arrest the people in question and let the courts decide if the person is guilty. Unfortunately, many feel that didn\u2019t excuse the officer showing no emotion towards Jodie\u2019s young baby.
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\n[post_page_title]Taking home a victory[\/post_page_title]
\nAlthough Jodie knows she won the case, it seems this mother will take a long time to heal from the trauma of being accused of stealing. She truly thought that she was doing the right thing at the time.
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\nJodie is still upset that her family was forced to go through it all, and feels her daughter and young baby have been dragged through an emotional time for no reason. The May family is now ready to just move past the drama and onto the next stage of their life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, it seems as though no matter what we do, our parents are there to stand in our way of fun. Although getting grounded, banned from going out with our friends, or having something taken away might seem like the end of the world at the time, the chances are that our parents only have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":71512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n