GED Dad out of jail

By Libby

Following up on my earlier post, Mr. Gergen has been granted at least a temporary reprieve by the courts but he's not quite a free man yet.

But Gegner, who landed in jail May 7 for failing to ensure his daughter attended school, risks serving another 171 days unless his daughter attends pre-college mathematics classes at Miami University’s Hamilton campus. Gegner must return to court July 16. He will go back to jail that day unless Brittany attends the classes as arranged, Niehaus ruled.

The reprieve means Gegner will keep the data-entry job he has held for 14 years at Christ Hospital and can go back to parenting another daughter, 16, who is an honor-roll student at Fairfield High School. [...]

The teen has said it's not fair that her father was punished for her behavior. But the law in Ohio is clear, parents can be held legally responsible for truant children. [...]

Usually stoic on the bench, Niehaus got choked up as he spoke about why truancy is a big deal. Children who don’t get educations typically end up with low-paying jobs, committing crimes or relying on public assistance, he said.

I assume then the honorable judge is out there advocating for sentencing reform so communities can spend money on schools instead of pouring money into prisons filled with non-violent offenders who fell victim to the war on some drugs. And as I noted earlier, he certainly hasn't demonstrated the same level of concern about teens who get caught in sexual misconduct.

I'm sure the Ohio law, which was amended in 2000, was well intentioned but it's difficult to feel much sympathy for the judge, who has endured some very bad press, when he failed to take any mitigating circumstances into account. I find it especially interesting that the other daughter, who presumably actually lives with him, is an honor student. Doesn't exactly make the case for irresponsible parenting but makes a pretty good one for over-zealous ruling from the bench. [via Jules]