A Pasco sheriff's spokesman says a deputy did the only thing he could, but critics disagree.
By STEVE THOMPSON
Published April 9, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - A 9-year-old girl was arrested, handcuffed and taken into custody on charges of stealing a rabbit and a small amount of money from a neighbor's home.
A Pasco County sheriff's deputy read the girl her rights Tuesday evening and took her away in the back of his patrol car.
The girl, who began to cry during questioning, admitted taking Oreo the rabbit but denied taking two $5 bills and some change, according to a Sheriff's Office report.
Asked Thursday whether such an arrest is standard procedure, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll responded:
"To arrest burglars? Sure."
It's not unusual for the Sheriff's Office to arrest people age 9 and even younger, Doll said.
"Somebody entered a residence without permission and stole money and a pet rabbit. That's burglary," Doll said. "I don't know what other explanation you need. Nine years old is enough to know right from wrong."
Deputies said the intruder probably entered through an unlocked door when no one was home.
The mother of the child who owns the rabbit is pressing authorities to prosecute the 9-year-old.
Lori Ventura says the girl, who lives down the street in their Veterans Village subdivision, has been involved in other incidents.
"This little girl needs help," Ventura said, "and she needs to be in the system to get help for a long time."
The identities of the 9-year-old girl and her mother are being withheld to protect the child's identity.
State records show the girl's mother entered pre-trial diversion after her arrest in Pinellas County on a welfare fraud charge in 1995. Five years later, Tampa police arrested her on a misdemeanor DUI charge. The woman also has a daughter, 18, and a son, 20.
Cecka Green, spokeswoman for the advocacy group Voices for Florida's Children, said she was baffled by the circumstances of the 9-year-old's arrest.
"I think this is a little unusual to say the very least," she said. "To treat children as hardened criminals, when back in the old days that may have just been seen as mischief that could have been handled by the parents, can contribute to some problems with our kids in this society."
Doll said when the victim of a crime wants an arrest, deputies are obliged to make one if there is enough evidence.
Deputy Matthew Cohen found Oreo, the 1-year-old, black-and-white rabbit, hopping around in the girl's living room, according to the arrest report.
"That pretty much ties our hands, and we have to enforce the law," Doll said.
A more common approach, said Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender Bob Dillinger, would be for the deputy to have taken a report and referred the charges to the state attorney.
"There's just a lot of other things you can do with a third-grader," he said. "There are alternatives other than a simple arrest."
The girl was released to her mother from a juvenile assessment center about an hour after her arrest.
She said the arrest was scary, it was her first time in a patrol car and she didn't like the deputy.
"He put one handcuff on me really tight," she told the Times on Thursday. And during the ride, "He just stared at me in the mirror."
