UPDATED: Duct-taped baby pic stuns police
A Chester Township woman showed police a photo of her 2-year-old daughter -- wrapped tightly in duct tape -- to prove she was a victim of identify theft. Police are now deciding whether to charge her with child abuse.
UPDATED: Duct-taped baby pic stuns police
William Bender
Last week, Chester Township mother Caira Ferguson showed police this photo of her 2-year-old daughter to prove she was a victim of identity theft, according to police. Now they're looking into filing child-abuse charges.
Ya think?
Ferguson, 21, who lives in the township's Toby Farms section, was taken into custody today on outstanding warrants, says Chester Township Police Chief Ken Coalson. But investigators believe any potential child abuse occurred in Nether Providence. Police there are interviewing Ferguson right now.
"She contacted us for an alleged identify theft and brought that picture," Coalson said. "When we looked at the picture, we were thinking to ourselves, 'Well, what you're showing us here, we want to look into that.'"
The photo of the girl was posted on MediaTakeOut.com and received 337,000 hits before it was removed, Coalson said.
“It's heart-wrenching," he said. "Even if it was a joke, even if they were just clowning around. Try taking the tape off. It does look like it was tightly wrapped. I'm sure she wasn't too happy.”
Update: Ferguson has admitted to taping her daughter to the chair and has been charged with unlawful restraint, endangering the welfare of a child and related offenses, according to Nether Providence police. She is awaiting her arraignment.
Update, 6:25 p.m.: Ferguson was arraigned this evening by video conference and is being held without bail, which is more typical of murder cases than child endangerment cases.
"I feel she's a danger to her child," said Brookhaven Magisterial District Judge Walter McCray. "Her lawyer can petition Media if they want bail. I don't do it very often, but she's going to jail."
- Seriously? You don't see the racism throughout the comments? If this child were white, u wouldn't read comment after comment about SS and welfare checks, about the father being in prison, or about sterilization.
— bigtires - Thanks for proving my point genius! — taycom
- Wonder what the father's involvement was? Oh yes he's probably in prison,but got out enough to father a child,who was and is living at taxpayers' expense like his Dad— pete from boothwyn
- THIS IS WHAT MOTHERHOOD HAS COME TO. NO LOVE NO COMPASSION JUST PURE SELFISH BEHAVIOR THAT ENDANGERED THE LIFE OF A PITIFUL CHILD.— Miss M.
Comment removed.- Quack, quack!
(It's DUCT tape. For taping up air ducts, etc. Not for taping up ducks. Quack!)— perkele - These comments are disgusting as the mother you are talking about. I wonder what the comments would look like if the mother was white instead. Go kill yourselves, we don't need you here!— bahrvelous
- While the comments are pretty bad, the fact that you put them on the level of tying a baby like a wild hog shows a truly repulsive mentality. Implied racism on a web site's comments section is as bad as torturing a baby? You need help. — Nooaah
- ever read that book The Bell Curve? yup...— Howie FelterSnatch
- HOW DO WE KNOW THAT SHE WAS ACTUALLY THE ONE WHO DUCT TAPED THE KID? THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO THE STORY, BECAUSE THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE PICTURE THOUGHT TO TAKE A PICTURE FIRST, THEN WHATEVER HAPPENED AFTER THAT.— db2401
- OOPS, DISREGARD THAT LAST STATEMENT OF MINE. I THOUGHT I READ SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT ON ANOTHER SITE.— db2401
- How can you people sit up here and judge this woman by saying how much of a bad person she is, then initiate hatred towards another race of people? "Hate starts with self"— db2401
- Comment removed.
- Does have any other children? The story says she is 21. She may have a few more at home.— JEGirl
- First, the mother is a disgrace, just as bad as someone like Susan Smith. She should definitely have her so-called parental rights revoked. Second, I'm one of these so-called "animals" and was raised in Philly by a single mother (a widow, not abandoned). We've never used welfare and today I earn a mid-six figure salary, which I'm pretty sure is a lot more than most of these folks posting racial slurs and whining about affirmative action, entitlements, and welfare. There are many more "animals" out there like me. So who's living off of whom? My children don't qualify for grants or other college assistance but I'm sure yours do, and you will use it. Not all handouts come in the form of food stamps or WIC cards. My tax dollars will pay for your kid to go to college, but not my own. Now go think about that while listening to your ruler, Rush Limbaugh.— moose_man
