A Nashville woman has been indicted for hiring a stripper for her 16-year-old son and his friends.
Mom Indicted for Hiring Stripper for Teen (AP)
A mother faces criminal charges after she hired a stripper to dance at her 16-year-old son’s birthday party. Anette Pharris, 34, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and involving a minor in obscene acts. The boy’s father, the stripper and two others also face charges. “I tried to do something special for my son,” Pharris said. “It didn’t harm him.”
About 10 people under the age of 18 were at the birthday party in September, including minors who were not related to the family, authorities said.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said minors are not permitted in adult establishments. “A person shouldn’t be allowed to circumvent that law by hiring a stripper, a lady who took all her clothes off and spent a good amount of time dancing around minors,” he said.
Anette Pharris took photos at the party and tried to have them developed at a nearby drug store. Drug store employees notified authorities, police said.
“Who are they to tell me what I can and can’t show to my own children?” the mother said.
While this is not a parental decision I would make, I’m inclined to agree with Pharris. A minor can’t buy a beer at a bar but one wouldn’t expect the parents to be indicted if they gave their 16-year-old a beer. Similarly, a 16-year-old may not be able to go to a strip club but there would be no crime committed if his girlfriend–even an adult girlfriend–danced around naked in front of him. Even if he stuffed a dollar in her G-string during the performance.
The only problematic aspect of this, really, is the fact that minor children not her son were at the party. Even there, though, it’s questionable as to what harm was caused. I’m guessing all of the attendees have seen naked women before, at least in the movies or a magazine. Or the Internet, for that matter. Further, it would not appear that their parents were particularly upset about the situation, as it took a photo lab attendant to bring this to the attention of the authorities.
Now, if being stupid were a crime, she could be charged with a felony for taking the film to a photo lab.
Update (1357): Ed Morrissey and the First Mate agree that this is bad parenting. Joe Gandleman thinks it’s just plain “wrong.”
