Mother Facing Second Degree Child Abuse Charges for Failure to Protect
James Harbert, the Spring Arbor father who is accused of choking his son to the point of unconsciousness and whipping him with a dog leash, has been charged with first degree child abuse. But in the wake of the investigation that led to these allegations, the question was asked about the boy’s mother – what role had she played in the abuse, if any, and what charges might she have to face?
Well, the answer is here. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that Tina Harbert failed to protect her children from her abusive husband. As a result, she has been charged with two counts of second degree child abuse.
Under Michigan law, second degree child abuse is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. State law describes second degree child abuse as “knowingly or intentionally committing an act that, under the circumstances, poses an unreasonable risk of harm or injury to a child, and the act results in physical harm to a child.” Tina Harbert is accused of “failure to protect” her two sons from the “serious physical and mental harm” that they allegedly suffered at the hands of their father.
According to court records, the signs of abuse were first discovered by the older boy’s grandparents. The 12-year-old allegedly asked for his grandparents help in removing his pajama pants, which he said had adhered to his skin. Once his pants were removed, however, it was revealed that his buttocks was red, raw, and tender.
The grandparents contacted the mother, Tina, and asked what had caused this. Her explanation was that, while the 10-year-old boy was fine, the older boy’s bottom had become raw and inflamed from too many spankings. Disturbed by this revelation, the boy’s grandparents kept the older boy in their custody for a month, before they finally contacted the police.
In his interview with child welfare workers, the older boy revealed that the spankings were the least of his concerns when it came to his father. He claimed that James Harbert choked him, slapped him, whipped his back with a dog leash, spanked him with a 2×4, and knocked him out on a number of occasions.
James Harbert was arrested and charged. But it was a full three weeks before the prosecutor’s office decided to charge Tina Harbert as well. She is scheduled to appear, along with her husband, before District Court Judge Joseph S. Filip on January 14th for the preliminary hearing.