Brown
13th November 2003, 08:40 PM
Here's the sick story of the day, from KCCI TV (Des Moines, Iowa) (http://www.theiowachannel.com/news/2636602/detail.html):Des Moines police filed a criminal charge in a bizarre case which they say involves a baby sitter, two 8-year-old girls, witchcraft and alcohol.
Melissa Fernandez, 20, of Des Moines, is accused of giving 8-year-old twins alcohol, and using a knife to cut themselves in a ritual to become blood sisters. Fernandez is charged with one count of child endangerment.
...
"I can completely understand the charges for distributing alcohol to a minor, and I will fess up to that, but anything else I completely do not understand," Fernandez said.
Fernandez said she simply showed the girls the movie "Practical Magic," which is about witches, and the twin's satanism claims are a misunderstanding.
"I just wanted the girls to have fun, you know, because they had watched that movie and pretty much they wanted to mimic some of the stuff of that," Fernandez said. The headline for this story is "Baby Sitter Arrested, Accused Of Witchcraft, Satanism." Actually, she was not charged with witchcraft at all. Nor was she charged with being a satanist. She was charged with child endangerment, based upon conduct that would be criminal without regard to her religious or supernatural beliefs.
Melissa Fernandez, 20, of Des Moines, is accused of giving 8-year-old twins alcohol, and using a knife to cut themselves in a ritual to become blood sisters. Fernandez is charged with one count of child endangerment.
...
"I can completely understand the charges for distributing alcohol to a minor, and I will fess up to that, but anything else I completely do not understand," Fernandez said.
Fernandez said she simply showed the girls the movie "Practical Magic," which is about witches, and the twin's satanism claims are a misunderstanding.
"I just wanted the girls to have fun, you know, because they had watched that movie and pretty much they wanted to mimic some of the stuff of that," Fernandez said. The headline for this story is "Baby Sitter Arrested, Accused Of Witchcraft, Satanism." Actually, she was not charged with witchcraft at all. Nor was she charged with being a satanist. She was charged with child endangerment, based upon conduct that would be criminal without regard to her religious or supernatural beliefs.