GUILTY MO - James Marquis for child abuse, child *advertiser censored*, Platte City, 2010

CHICANA

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Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said 42-year-old James Marquis would make the girl, who lived with Marquis and his wife, stand in the corner of her room for hours on end while he watched her on a camera stationed in her room.


http://www.kctv5.com/news/23099185/detail.html

I want to know how she's related to them. It doesn't say they were her parents, only that she lived with them.
 
Okay, the "Dad" deserves to go to jail, no doubt... But, I didn't read anything about the mother... Surely she knew what was going on in the home and if she did nothing to try to help the daughter; I think she should be held accountable, as well.

I wish there was some way to get this little girl her dog back... Poor thing...
 
what a piece of garbage. yes, i sure know my grades would have improved if i got beaten with a belt and forced to stand up for 12 hours at a time......makes you have plenty of energy.........grrrrrrrrrr
 
I read this story and its hit the craigslist pet section. Everyone is trying to find the dog and get it back to this little girl, Way to go KC CL pets section.
 
I believe I found James Marquis' dad's obit.

He worked as a police officer for over 46 years; 2 years in Topeka, 28 years for the KCPD, and over 10 years in Platte City, before finishing out his career in Edgerton as Assistant Chief of Police. During his career he was also deputized with the FBI and U. S. Marshals. He volunteered his personal time with the Rotary Camp for B. S. A. Handicapped Boys.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/kansascity/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-l-marquis-tom&pid=138211525

I haven't heard much about this lately, but I'm having some doubts. I guess since I had issues with my teen at this girl's age, I know that they lie and exagerrate.
As far as the *advertiser censored*, I found a myspace for someone with the same name as the male grandchild listed on the obit and he's 20 and lives in Platte City. It's possible the *advertiser censored* didn't belong to the dad.
As far as making her look at *advertiser censored*, it's possible that he found it and showed her because he wanted to know if she downloaded it.
I don't think I'd be very calm if I found something like that on my computer. I can imagine if I thought it was my kid that downloaded it, calling my kid in the room and asking WTH is this and WTH is it doing on my computer.
Since I haven't heard of any further charges, I'm just wondering if the kid exaggerated the situation.
 
I just checked casenet and it doesn't look like they liked the fact that he posted the
$30k cash/surety bond prior to his arraignment so they re-arrested him and gave him a $200k cash only bond.

Have they always made people relinquish firearms before being convicted of a crime ?
It's like you're not really innocent until proven guilty.

I mean I understand why they wouldn't want him to have a weapon, I just don't see how it's not a violation of civil rights.
 
well if this guy admitted to this stuff thinking its 'normal punishment' for bad grades i have a hard time thinking the girl is lying
 
I know it's just me and my personal experience but just about anything involving the Rotary, Scouts, and children with challenges gives me a really sick feeling.

I know Rotary and Scouting can be absolutely great. Seriously, I do. I also know that "cliques" of bad people can find one another there. Sad but true.

I agree with kbl, I imagine she's not exaggerating. I find that a child who's been abused often reacts in a way to protect the abuser rather than to get him/her into more trouble. Doesn't that seem contra-intuitive? It does to me.

Remember when Phill Garrido's rape victim, Kathy, got rescued by a curious cop? She was out of that storage unit in a heartbeat, totally naked and telling the officer what was going on. She was a healthy woman, though, abducted by a stranger. I think a child or even adult, who's been abused over a long period of time and had their brain screwed with, will almost always react with fear and instant protection of the abuser. Think about how poor Jaycee reacted when Garrido got caught. She was totally confused and scared.

I have a feeling that far more went on for this little girl than we know about yet.

And please note that I'm not saying that some kids don't lie. They surely can. Personally, though, in over 25 years of raising at-risk kids and advocating for literally hundreds of others, I have only seen it occur twice. Two times. I just don't think that it's common, especially when it's about a parent. JMO
 
well if this guy admitted to this stuff thinking its 'normal punishment' for bad grades i have a hard time thinking the girl is lying


Marquis told investigators that he believed this was appropriate punishment for poor grades at school, according to court documents.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/09/1867067/father-charged-with-child-abuse.html#ixzz0kvZAEK6J


If he was aware of all the allegations against him, you're right.
If he said this before he was charged, he might not have been aware of all the accusations.
IDK. I'm not defending him, I just expected some child molestation or sexual abuse charges. Why make her look at *advertiser censored* ?

I'll wait to hear more, but I'm going to give you a little snippet of my ordeal with my teen.
She was out of control and when I found out she was having people in the house while I was working and neighbors told me kids were getting high in my driveway, I made arrangements for her to go to my friend's after school. I took her house key and made arrangements for her to ride the bus to my friends.
She didn't go. She came home and waited outside so all the neighbors thought she was locked out. Next day was the same deal, so I gave her 3 options- she could go to her Aunt Kimmi's after school, the library, look for a job in the neighborhood or wait in the garage til I got home.
I didn't give her the option of coming home and trashing my house with kids that I didn't even know.
I gave her the garage door opened and let her make the decision. She came home and waited in the garage with her $350 puppy til I got home for 2 or 3 days (BTW the police said this was fine when I called them on her for shoving her little brother and sister to the ground when I wouldn't let her go somewhere) while we enrolled her in the youth outreach program that the cop suggested after witnessing her behavior. I swear that girl could have killed me for taking her cell phone and changing the internet password.

She told everyone she was locked in the garage for 3 days. Sounds horrible doesn't it ?
I read Parenting with love & logic and thought I was doing the right thing by giving her options and letting her be responsible for her choices.
Instead, I was accused of being a horrible parent who locked her child in the garage.
 
I know it's just me and my personal experience but just about anything involving the Rotary, Scouts, and children with challenges gives me a really sick feeling.

I know Rotary and Scouting can be absolutely great. Seriously, I do. I also know that "cliques" of bad people can find one another there. Sad but true.

I agree with kbl, I imagine she's not exaggerating. I find that a child who's been abused often reacts in a way to protect the abuser rather than to get him/her into more trouble. Doesn't that seem contra-intuitive? It does to me.

Remember when Phill Garrido's rape victim, Kathy, got rescued by a curious cop? She was out of that storage unit in a heartbeat, totally naked and telling the officer what was going on. She was a healthy woman, though, abducted by a stranger. I think a child or even adult, who's been abused over a long period of time and had their brain screwed with, will almost always react with fear and instant protection of the abuser. Think about how poor Jaycee reacted when Garrido got caught. She was totally confused and scared.

I have a feeling that far more went on for this little girl than we know about yet.

And please note that I'm not saying that some kids don't lie. They surely can. Personally, though, in over 25 years of raising at-risk kids and advocating for literally hundreds of others, I have only seen it occur twice. Two times. I just don't think that it's common, especially when it's about a parent. JMO

His dad was the one who was in LE & all the other stuff and there are no allegations against him. Based on the guest book comments he was a very respected man.
I'm waiting to see if she really was an at risk kid. Teenagers are HARD. Some are spoiled and can't handle restrictions. They're used to having everything handed to them on a silver platter and they can't handle it when they get in trouble and the parents put their foot down or feet down or whatever.
 
You did all the same things I would have done, Chicana. I actually applaud you as it takes a strong person to deal with a strong teen. I'm so sorry she lied. Has she come back around? Many teens would like to just move on and as long as they change their attitude and get back on the right path, I never dig up the past. I think kids who truly love their parents but are out of control (for whatever reason) agonize over their behavior enough. Are you guys closer now? I really hope so.

My eldest daughter has a temper and was a, shall we say, "spirited" teen. I can't tell you how many apology notes I have from her at age 6, 10, 14, 17--"I'm sorry the shampoo bottle hit you when I threw it", "I'm sorry I hurt your foot when I slammed my door", "I'm sorry I flipped you off in front of my friends". We can laugh about it now but it was tough (and she can't claim special needs as she's a smart cookie). We are so close now, though, and she mother-hens me to death. She's 26. She's lucky I let her live. I do totally get the wrath of a teen, however.

I agree it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm tough and I don't give in. I've come up with some mighty creative punishments and consequences that usually involve boredom. I never isolated or required "hard labor". Writing letters, essays, or reading books of your own choice at the table for an hour was typical. The kid set the timer himself and I usually surprised them by letting them get up a bit early if they'd been decent.

Being forced to stand for hours is considered child abuse, though. I understand that parents can reach the end of their rope. If they do, they need to sign up, through their local school for some teen parenting classes. I've taught a few sessions of those and they are very helpful. They not only give you tips but they let you whine to others who are going through the same hell. When I would tell people I had nine teens at home, they would look at me like I was crazy. Well, I was. And look what it did to my poor brain. I started out pretty normal.

One factor in this case that concerns me is the camera. Haven't we seen this tactic before? Just the fact that they had a camera like that bothers me. We had them but we had kids with major issues and they were part of a behavior or supervision plan with a PO or a doctor.

There's so many better ways to discipline and not break the spirit. You want your kids to learn to behave, not to hate you.
 
this is what I am having a hard time understanding-12 days is longer than a school vacation, so was she home schooled? On top of that, who was monitoring her 12 hours a day to make sure she was not moving?
 
why does there have to be molestation charges?

i think making her stand in a corner for hours on end and beating her bottom black and blue is evidence enough
 
Believe--Our one remaining high school student just returned to school after a 13 day Spring Break. Our Spring breaks used to be 9-10 days but they have increased in length due to budget cuts. It's really sad, but there are no resources in most towns for mainstream kids, much less kids with any challenges, to stay busy during these breaks. I've been told by social workers and juvenile PO's that there's always an uptick in abuse and crime during the break as the kids are bored and unsupervised. Our YMCA is far too expensive for a lot of families and the only Boys and Girls Club is closing. Kids need more safe options as they are in school less and less each year. I don't know if this is typical for the rest of the country but I wouldn't doubt it.

Is anyone clear on whether this camera was connected to a simple monitor or to a recorder? It's possible that the girl was recorded and the parents viewed the tape to make sure she hadn't moved. That is so appallingly abusive. We've determined that this is torture in our prisons. How can parents think it's OK? To me, it's a sure sign that a parent has "lost it" and is resorting to spirit-killing tactics to attempt to regain total control through cruelty. The irony is that it never works!!
 
why does there have to be molestation charges?

i think making her stand in a corner for hours on end and beating her bottom black and blue is evidence enough

I understand that, I guess with the child *advertiser censored* allegations I expected there to be molestation charges.
I just think it would be easy for an indignant teen (many teens would be mortified to stand in the corner for 20 minutes at the age of 16) to exagerrate a punishment like that.
I didn't know he beat her, I must have missed that in the article.
 
Some clarifications:

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/0...-with-child-abuse.html?storylink=omni_popular

"The girl told authorities that Marquis had physically and emotionally abused her for years, Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd said. She said Marquis beat her with a belt if she committed minor offenses."

and

"During Christmas break, Zahnd said, Marquis forced the girl to stand in the corner of her bedroom from the time she finished breakfast in the morning until she went bed 10 to 12 hours later. This punishment continued over 12 days, court documents said, and she was allowed to leave the corner only to use the restroom, eat or do chores." [ETA: Our Christmas break was 16 days.]

and

"Authorities also said he exposed the teen to *advertiser censored*." [ETA: This could be just having the *advertiser censored* on the computer while she was present as in the NY Corrections Officer arrest last week--his computer was open to child *advertiser censored* in the kitchen while the kids ate breakfast!!]

IMO, there's a lot missing in these reports, as Chicana has noted. Is using a belt as punishment in this state illegal? It's surely not in lots of states. Leaving marks on a child is, though. kbl, where did you see "beat her bottom black and blue"?

We've seen several murders and serious injuries to teens lately connected to beating "a la Michael Pearl". Remember Lydia Schatz, Jeanette Maples, and the Bass teen in Phoenix. All were isolated and beaten. Several have mentioned "chores" and a couple have involved loving a dog. Religion has played a factor in several. There's a common theme here, IMO.

I keep checking back to see if the dog has been found. I'm actually pretty surprised that it hasn't been. Most animal lovers would be whisking that dog back to that girl in a heartbeat...especially knowing that the dog would be protected in foster care with the child.

FWIW, just as Women's Shelters are now accepting more and more pets or making safe arrangements for boarding, foster care homes are being asked to consider accepting pets. We accepted a dog when our foster daughter came to us. She would have been devastated to leave him behind. It does help with healing. We took a goldfish once, also, when a child came to us for adoption.

I have a feeling that the arrest was more related to cruelty due to the extended standing and emotional abuse (against the law in many states but not all). I have a feeling that the child *advertiser censored* arrest was almost a "tack-on". It doesn't sound like this girl is depicted in the *advertiser censored* or was shown it on a steady basis. I think they were looking for any and all reasons to hook this guy up while they investigated. JMO
 
why did my post dissapear? anyways i said that i thought it said she was beat with a belt, but miss iz already clarified, thanks.

to me using a belt should be illeagal even if it isnt. they wouldnt let you beat a horse, why is ok to beat your kid like one?
 
I've always felt that the laws permitting the beating of a child with a belt but not leaving marks was a little like the old Texas driving laws where you could drink while you were driving but you couldn't be drunk. How is an angry person or a drinking person supposed to be certain as to when they've crossed the line?

Hitting a child with anything, even a hand, usually doesn't "leave a mark" until the following day. I think the laws are far too hazy on "instruments of punishment". I can't use corporal punishment at all due to being a certified foster parent and it just makes one far more creative.

I wish LE would go after Michael and Debbi Pearl for their insane ideas about using plumbing line to hit kids with. Biblically based discipline--"how to kill or maim your child with God in your heart".
 

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