Sex-ed method leads to felony charges

Rhode Island news:

PROVIDENCE - A Woonsocket mother and her boyfriend are facing felony child-neglect charges in Family Court after allegedly telling investigators they had intercourse in front of the woman's 9-year-old daughter in order to teach her about sex.

David Prata, 33, and Rebecca Arnold, 36, of 559 Park Ave., are accused of habitually neglecting the girl in 2004 "by providing an environment that is lewd and depraved in a manner that makes their home unfit for the child to live in," according to court records. They have pleaded not guilty.

The allegations came to light on Dec. 14, 2004, when the Child Abuse Hotline received a call from a teacher in North Adams, Mass. The teacher said the girl had recently come to live with her biological father in North Adams after spending the summer with her mother in Woonsocket. ...

The investigator asked why Prata thought a girl needed to know about sexual acts at the age of 8 or 9. "We wanted to prepare her so she would know how," he said.

The investigator asked if a child that age can comprehend sex. "Animals do it all the time," Prata said.

The investigator asked, "Do you think that animals function at a lower intelligence level than humans?"

"Not really," Prata said.

She asked if he would have liked to have seen his parents having sex. "Yes," he replied. "I probably would have learned something."

The interview concluded with the investigator asking Prata if he understood that he had done psychological damage to the girl. "No," Prata said.

The couple sounds a little kooky, but I really doubt that there is any good evidence of psychological damage to the girl. I wouldn't be surprised if millions of kids around the world are raised this way today, and no one has shown that they are psychologically damaged.

The interview concluded with Ciesla saying, "You know that you will not be seeing your daughter for Christmas?" Arnold said, "No. I didn't know that."

Ciesla immediately notified the Woonsocket police. ... The attorney general's office reviewed the case, and the Woonsocket police arrested Prata and Arnold on Feb. 10, 2005. ... If convicted, Prata and Arnold could face one to three years in prison or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

That might psychologically damage the girl.

George writes:

Yes, there are millions of kids who are present while their parents have sex, but not who watch a step-father have sex. Most domestic sex abuse comes from step-fathers, and that is what makes this case bizarre and dangerous.

You have a point. The girl is now back with her real father.