Man jailed for letting girl smoke

A man has been jailed for 18 months for allowing a three-year-old child to smoke.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the girl asked Graeme Conroy, 31, for a cigarette and when she started smoking it she was filmed on a mobile phone.

The court heard that the child had smoked three cigarettes before the filming took place.

Conroy, from Ashington, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

Last month magistrates in Gateshead had remanded Conroy, of Blyth Terrace, into custody and committed his case to the crown court after deciding their powers of sentence were insufficient.

Read more @ BBC News

I think the sentence is a little harsh...

[quote=You]I think the sentence is a little harsh...[/quote]
Rare to say this after any criminal conviction, but good.

good that he got 18 months, or good that I disagree with it?

Personally... I think a slapped wrist to let him know how stupid he had been is enough... there are worse crimes in the world.

[quote=You]good that he got 18 months, or good that I disagree with it?

Personally... I think a slapped wrist to let him know how stupid he had been is enough... there are worse crimes in the world.[/quote]

r u being serious?

PROPER child cruelty.

[quote=Ya'qub][quote=You]good that he got 18 months, or good that I disagree with it?

Personally... I think a slapped wrist to let him know how stupid he had been is enough... there are worse crimes in the world.[/quote]

r u being serious?

PROPER child cruelty.[/quote]

He is being serious :/ we did try telling him the jail sentence is right/deserved yesterday but he disagreed :/

I clicked the cute option because it is. Apparently she started crying when he wouldn't give her a cigarette.

I'd still punish the dad though. 200 hours unpaid community service...for the NHS?

That sounds more reasonable to me.

I also clicked the "cute" option, not because I think it was, but because I suspect that is what that moron was thinking at the time.

OR FORCED to quit smoking...

[quote=Dawud]I'd still punish the dad though. 200 hours unpaid community service...for the NHS?[/quote]
I've heard of someone who was given community service by the courts. He didn't do it though because there was no-one to supervise him.

it's child cruelty, and the act was well calculated. I mean if he had let the child have 1 cig then thght oh my gosh what am i doing? That would "perhaps" be forgiven. But he let this kid smoke several times, and then he had the nerve to film it aswell? He thght it was light entertainment. He used this child in his sick little game. This is the sort of behaviour you would expect from a teen, not a responsible adult, and certainly not a parent.

Bear in mind also the child was 3 yrs old, in my eyes this is a baby, a toddler. My son is three if an adult did that to my son i'd expect the police to convict the criminal. So what's the difference here he was an adult right, only thing that makes it worse is he just so happens to be the father of this child aswell. How sad, what a sick world we live in when we have demented ppl like this walking the streets freely. At times like this i agree with those folks who say ppl should need a licence before they are permitted to have children. Any wolly can have a kid, but not anyone can be a "parent".

18 months too short! Guilty act was committed. And also direct intention so it was no mistake in the criminal sense.

What's wrong with letting the parent decide what's good and bad for the child?

I know this is not related to the topic; but aren't there some parents who allow their child to drink at the ages of ten, until they get drunk..so that they learn what it will be like in the future? What do people think of that? A good or bad idea?

[quote=St786]18 months too short! Guilty act was committed. And also direct intention so it was no mistake in the criminal sense.[/quote]

If you punish crimes in an unfair/too harsh manner, you lessen the fear of punishment.

For instance if you punish theft and murder with the same sentence, the person caught for theft will have nothing to lose in "exterminating" any evidence.

The right punishment for the crime is a must for the system to work.

There was a girl who used to be in my class at school, and I bumped into her in the street when we were about 18/19, and she was obviously pregnant (i.e. quite big and nearly due), and she was smoking weed!

When I asked her why she hadn't stopped, she said 'I've heard that the only damage it can do to my baby is give it asthma, which isn't too bad".

WHAT?!

"Sorry Timmy, you can't run the 800 metres on sports day, because your mother couldn't give up smoking weed for a few months while you was carrying you in her womb."

I was utterly appalled and disgusted when I read about this. Not only the crime but the punishment too. The length of the sentence is far too lenient IMO. It sends out completely the wrong message to any other like minded idiots with an IQ of a tomato.

A colleague at work thought he should have been sterilised as part of the punishment.

And Dawud, I am really shocked by your comments... :shock:

[quote=You]
If you punish crimes in an unfair/too harsh manner, you lessen the fear of punishment.

For instance if you punish theft and murder with the same sentence, the person caught for theft will have nothing to lose in "exterminating" any evidence.

The right punishment for the crime is a must for the system to work.[/quote]

I agree with that last statement. But not the first. In comparison to a sentence given for murder, it may be harsh, but I think both should be much harsher than they are at the moment in this country. With the sentence for murder being much more heavier of course.

Islam is all about punishments which serve as deterrents. The sentencing in this country is a bit of a joke IMO. It is hardly ever harsh. Thus prison is hardly a deterrent these days! More like a holiday camp. These days you can be out in 4 years after killing a person. That is just stupid. What is stopping a person from doing such a thing?

Growing up as a kid I thought murder meant at least 20 years in prison eating nothing but porridge. Yeah right.

Maybe I am being too lenient, but my thought process is one of "hindsight is 20:20" where I am sure even the guy convicted will be mortified by what he did (and if he isn't, prison is the wrong place for him - a psyche ward would be a better fit).

For me intent matters, and I do not think he would have had criminal intent, or an intention to deliberately harm the child. Wrongly of course as smoking is not "harmless fun", but many do think it that.

[quote=Ya'qub]

When I asked her why she hadn't stopped, she said 'I've heard that the only damage it can do to my baby is give it asthma, which isn't too bad".

[/quote]

:O

[quote=Hajjar]and the act was well calculated. I mean if he had let the child have 1 cig then thght oh my gosh what am i doing? That would "perhaps" be forgiven. But he let this kid smoke several times, and then he had the nerve to film it aswell?

...

My son is three if an adult did that to my son i'd expect the police to convict the criminal.[/quote]
Well when you put it like that...but still I wouldn't give him a jail sentence. I'd put his kid on the at risk register, but I can't see the offender as being guilty of anything more than stupidity.

Also, is this the quote of the month?

Any wolly can have a kid, but not anyone can be a "parent".

I clicked the cute option because it is. Apparently she started crying when he wouldn't give her a cigarette

lol ..if the child is insisting they want something, its upto the parents to decide for what is best for them. Here he thought the best for her, which is sharing a ciggy..not one..bt a few. what an idiot!
He shouldnt be smoking infront of the child in the first place.

i know someone who is a father of a 2 year old..and he said that the man should be hung ..or have coal put in his mouth 😃

i agree to the sisters..if people cant bring kids up..then please dont have them! :x

[quote=kat khan]i agree to the sisters..if people cant bring kids up..then please dont have them! :x [/quote]

and if you don't have them, you won't know if you can bring them up or not... catch 22.

Getting the guy to know his mistake is important, but improsoning him is just depriving his child of a father for 2 years. What is worse - depriving a child parents, or giving that same child a few cigarettes?

[quote=You]What is worse - depriving a child parents, or giving that same child a few cigarettes?[/quote]
In this case, the latter.

[quote=MuslimBro][quote=You]What is worse - depriving a child parents, or giving that same child a few cigarettes?[/quote]
In this case, the latter.[/quote]

Why? how?

Also, in this case the question was wrong as it is not an "either or" situation, the cigarette thing has already happened, so the choice is between both or just the latter.

I am sure the guy knows he was being stupid and learnt his lesson. The whole point of this exercise in law enforcement was to tell the guy what he was doing is wrong and he will have learnt that already - putting him in jail and deriving his kid of a parent for 1.5 years does nothing to fix anything, it just makes other people feel better. (if he has not learnt his lesson, there is nothing to suggest the child will not be given smokes upon his release...)

I find this whole exercise in law enforcement stupid.

Kids should not be surrounded with cotton buds.

[quote=kat khan]i agree to the sisters..if people cant bring kids up..then please dont have them! :x

and if you don't have them, you won't know if you can bring them up or not... catch 22.

[/quote]

..to be around children..you do not neccesarily have to have your own brother, that is my point, he must have been in an environment with children before... cigarettes have health issues and are bad for adults anyway ..what was this insane man thinking when he was giving it to the kid?! i think he needs a medical treatment upstairs (in the head)..i dont think hel learn :doubt: 😃

being around a kid for an hour or so is not the same as being around one all day every day.

It also lacks the emotional baggage of it being your own spawn.

role reversal - lets say it was the mother who for whatever reason was to be sent to prison instead of the father... would it still be ok then?

but if she was reported?

I think the punishment is unjust and causing more harm than it is preventing. This should be nothing more than a slapped wrist and (maybe) some enforced good parenting lessons.

[quote=wednesday]Oh another thing, WHERE in a community would you find cases like these? [/quote]

there be nosy people around. or as in this case, some other kid filmed it, or maybe even the parent would do that?

Salaam

Just to reiterate my stance, I think the guy did something wrong. However, I don't believe it was malicious or intended to harm the child. As far as I can guess, he was just an idiot.

Personally, I don't think the punishment for stupidity should be as harsh as the punishment for malicious intent. I would choose to prosecute for negligence and irresponsible behaviour rather than child abuse; purely on the basis of intent.

[quote=wednesday]I think the child still has his mother... so if daddy's being punished for being naughty, never mind mummy's always there.

[/quote]

i agree with Mr You on this one, the child needs both parents and being away from him for two years means they both would miss out on loads.