A 43-year-old Louisiana woman charged in Collier County with aggravated child abuse for piercing the pubic area of a 13-year-old girl as a way to keep her from having sex received a year in jail Tuesday and agreed to testify against the girl's mother, who also is charged in the case.
Tammy Jane Meredith, of 4250 Blount Road, No. 50, Baton Rouge, La., gave the girl the body piercing against her will and at the request of the girl's mother, who is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse. She could face up to 30 years in state prison if convicted.
The girl had been sexually active with two adult men and that qualifies as sexual abuse because of her age, said the prosecutor, Assistant State Attorney Steve Maresca. But after learning of the sexual activity, the mother had Meredith pierce the girl's private area with a post and a connected hoop, authorities said.
"There are allegations of sexual abuse involving the child, and to keep her from being sexually active, they put a piercing on her privates," Maresca said.
The women also altered the girl's hair in an unusual way as a form of punishment, according to court records.
It happened sometime around August to October 2004, although investigators aren't sure of the exact date. A 13-year-old can't legally consent to sex with an adult. The investigation of those allegations is ongoing, Maresca said.
The mother and daughter aren't being identified by the Daily News because of the allegations of child abuse.
Donald Day, the attorney representing the mother, said it's debatable whether she committed child abuse or even did anything illegal. He said it's more of a parental rights case involving a mother who was at her wit's end.
"If you had a 13-year-old girl who was having sex repeatedly with 30-year-old men, and you've tried everything you know to do and you can't stop her, what would you do? Why wouldn't you put a ring down there that would physically stop her?" Day said.
Day said the ring made it difficult or impossible for the girl to have sex. Day said the mother had tried every other form of discipline, and they didn't work. The girl ran away repeatedly.
So even if most people may agree the piercing wasn't appropriate, the issue is whether the government can punish a parent trying to discipline her child, he contends.
"It was a young girl who was basically out of control sexually, and the mother put what you might call a chastity belt on her. And the prosecutor says that's cruel and unusual punishment for a parent to do," Day said. "I think there are a lot of different arguments you can look at it either way."
Under a plea agreement with the prosecution, Meredith pleaded no contest in Collier County Circuit Court to a lesser charge of child abuse and one count of operating a body piercing service without a license. Both are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.
She received a yearlong jail sentence, about nine months of which she already served after her arrest, according to court records. She also will serve two years of probation.
Maresca and Meredith's defense attorney, Leonid Kremenchuker, told the judge, Elizabeth V. Krier, that Meredith would agree to testify against the mother. Before pleading in court, Meredith gave the prosecutor an idea of what she'd testify to during a trial, a common practice called a proffer.
Her minimum sentence was around three years in prison under state sentencing guidelines, but Maresca said he agreed to go below that because of Meredith's cooperation in the case involving the mother.
Kremenchuker said he couldn't comment on the facts of the case. He said he had a good defense and was prepared for trial. The prosecution offered an improved deal, especially so it could get Meredith's testimony against the mother.
"It's a fair resolution in this case," Kremenchuker said.
The piercing couldn't prevent sex and at most was uncomfortable until it became infected, Maresca said.
Day said he'd never seen in the court records any proof it became infected. So if there's no proof of actual injury, then there's no child abuse, he argued.
"What about piercing a 3-year-old child's ears? Is that child abuse? The child didn't want it. There's harm there. There's blood there. Is it different here because it's a different body part?" Day asked.
The girl was removed from her mother's custody and has a guardian ad litem, who was in court Tuesday for the plea. The guardian, who is appointed by the court system to represent the child's interests, said the girl is doing better.
Meredith agreed to turn herself in Monday to begin serving her sentence. If she fails to show up, she will receive the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The mother is set for trial Feb. 19. She has pleaded innocent.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/..._teens_privat/ 
Woman Pierces Teen's Vagina To Keep Her From Having Sex 
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