Latest news with #parentalresponsibility
CBS News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Detroit City Council mulls over increasing fines for parents whose children break curfew
On Monday, Detroiters had the chance to speak directly with city officials about a proposed amendment to the city's parental responsibility laws that would increase fines against parents whose children are out past curfew. "It's empowering parents to be able to have all the tools available to them, to be able to look out and watch out for their children," said Coleman A. Young II, city councilmember. Currently, if a parent violates the law, the fines are a minimum of $75 for the first offense and $100 for a second. If approved by the Detroit City Council, it would be raised to a minimum of $250 for a first offense and $500 for a second offense, which is the maximum amount allowed under state law. "I need the fines to be increased so that I can have leverage when it comes to parents," said Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison. Data from Detroit police shows the city issued 122 curfew violations between July 8 and July 20, writing 68 parental responsibility tickets. Graham Anderson with the city's law department says the amendment is decades overdue. "We are not trying to criminalize overworked parents who the kid sneaks out of the house; that's not the purpose here," said Anderson. Community members spoke out passionately on both sides of the argument, pushing for council accountability and more solutions. "Some folks have mentioned that rights are being violated, but don't we have a right to a safe environment?" said one concerned resident. "I believe this is just like ICE. They're going to target the kids at the schools with the curfew; they're going to come after the parents," added another resident at Monday's council meeting. "Detroit has a real problem with youth-to-youth crime, and they need to find a way," said a resident. "This isn't going to end the issue, but it's going to at least help." After more than an hour of discussion, the amendment was moved to Tuesday's meeting as new business, with Bettison also requesting a waiver that would allow for an immediate full council vote.
CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Detroit police emphasizing city curfew after car fires, alleged accidental shooting
Detroit police are reinforcing their message to residents and parents that all teenagers need to be off the streets before the city's curfew as police investigate two incidents — an alleged accidental shooting and car fires at two auto body shops. "It's just something that can be controlled, you know, the parents need to step up and take responsibility," Commander John Svec with the Detroit Police Department said. Around 11:30 p.m. Friday, officers were called to the hospital for a report of a 15-year-old shot themselves in the hand, according to police. That teenager was given a ticket for a curfew violation, and his parents were given a ticket for parental responsibility. "His parents didn't know who he was with, how he got access to a firearm. He's a young man who shouldn't have been on the streets, and he definitely shouldn't have been handling a weapon," Svec said. At 1 a.m. on Saturday, police say a 13-year-old boy was responsible for damaging four vehicles with fire at two different auto collision shops on the city's west side. Captain Marcus Thirkill said that, while police are still investigating the fires, this would've never happened if families had followed the city's curfew. "We understand, I understand as a father, it's not easy knowing where your kid is at all times, but we're really asking parents to hone in, to know the location of your kids after curfew hours," Thirkill said. Since July 8, there have been over 140 juvenile curfew violations, police said. Officials are reiterating that anyone 15 years old or younger needs to be off city streets by 10 p.m., and anyone between the ages of 16 and 17 by 11 p.m.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Telegraph
Sperm donor with 180 children ‘controls women to get his way'
A sperm donor who claims to have fathered more than 180 children 'lacks empathy' and 'seeks to control others' to get his way, a High Court judge has said. Robert Albon, an unregulated donor who advertises his services on social media under the name 'Joe Donor', claims to have fathered children in countries as far away as Argentina and Australia. Mr Albon, 54, originally from the United States, started acting as an unregulated sperm donor in 2013 and came to England in 2020. At a hearing in March, the family court in Middlesbrough considered arrangements for a girl, known as CA, born in early 2023 after her mother contacted him to be a donor. The local authority in the case and the child's mother supported limited indirect contact with Mr Albon, while he opposed the proposals and asked a judge to give him parental responsibility for the child, as well as either face-to-face contact or more extensive indirect contact. The court also heard the case of a girl fathered by Mr Albon, who was born in 2022 and known as CB. The local authority asked for a care order with indirect contact after adoption or long-term fostering, while Mr Albon asked for her to be placed in his care. But in a 51-page judgment published on Wednesday, Mr Justice Poole refused Mr Albon's attempts for increased contact or placement. 'Joe's Juice' The High Court judge said women who used Mr Albon as a sperm donor were mostly single women or in same-sex relationships, adding it appeared that a high proportion of women in the UK who used his services were 'vulnerable in one way or another'. Mr Albon told the court that he charges £100 to deliver his sperm by post, after putting his semen into a syringe and packaging it with frozen tomato puree, to keep it at a suitable temperature, before sending the parcel. Mr Justice Poole said Mr Albon used light-hearted terms while advertising his services online, including referring to his semen as 'Joe's Juice' or 'baby batter'. The children in the two cases were conceived through sexual intercourse, described as 'natural insemination', the court was told. The judge said: 'The evidence before the court shows that Mr Albon will have sex with, or provide his sperm for artificial insemination, to just about anyone who asks.' Mr Justice Poole later said that Mr Albon's motives for acting as a donor had been questioned during the proceedings, adding: 'Is he motivated by the desire to have sex with many different women? Is he compelled to reproduce? 'Does he enjoy gratification from knowing that there are scores of his children on the earth? Is he simply attention-seeking? 'Does he want to secure his immigration status? It is difficult to look into the mind of Mr Albon because he is not self-reflective.' The judge later said that the risks of using the prolific unregulated sperm donor were obvious, including the risk of Mr Albon seeking parental responsibility or other court orders, as well as unknown potential health issues. Mr Justice Poole said that Mr Albon was 'ambiguous' about his future involvement when he was first contacted by the potential mothers, giving him the ability to decide at a later date whether or not to become involved. 'Vulnerability and naivety' 'When he needs a roof over his head, he has crept into the lives of women to his advantage,' the judge said. 'He uses others' vulnerability and naivety to suit his own ends.' The judge found that Mr Albon had tried to control five of the six women in England and Wales known to have carried his biological children, including using litigation as a way of control. Mr Justice Poole ruled: 'He lacks empathy and only has superficial relationships with others... he is dismissive of those who do not agree with him or who question his behaviour and beliefs. 'He seeks to control others to prove that he is right, to secure recognition, to get his own way, and to serve his own ends.' The judge said that CB could be adopted, finding that placing her with Mr Albon would not be in her best interests and that there was a 'substantial risk' she would be cast aside. 'His only friends appear to be fellow unregulated sperm donors. That is his world,' he said. 'Move on to another family' Mr Justice Poole also found that while Mr Albon can be declared as CA's father on a re-registered birth certificate, he refused the attempt to grant the donor parental responsibility or increased contact. 'I have no confidence that Mr Albon would commit to contact and find it likely that he would move on to another family when it suited him, as he has done previously,' the judge said. Mr Albon will be allowed to send a letter or card once a year to CA, to be passed on once her mother thinks it is appropriate. Mr Justice Poole also ordered that a copy of his judgment should be sent to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the regulator for fertility clinics, and the Home Office.
