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Girls' Mooning Leads To Woman's Arrest

POSTED: 2:48 pm EDT April 17, 2006
UPDATED: 4:10 pm EDT April 17, 2006

A woman in Mims, Fla., was arrested after two girls in her custody, ages 8 and 6, were spotted exposing themselves and apparently mooning passing motorists on a darkened roadway, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

An officer responded to reports of the two young girls standing along Meadow Green Drive in Mims bent over the shoulder of the road with their shorts around their ankles, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported.

The deputy questioned Teresa Lynn Shoultz, 38, who admitted telling the children that she once mooned passing cars as a youth.

"They asked me if I ever mooned anyone before. I told them I had when I was younger...I told them I did it at night," Shoultz told the officer, according to jail records.

When the girls were questioned, one of the children told deputies that Shoultz told them that the behavior was "OK," Florida Today said reports showed.

However, Shoultz said she did not encourage the children to moon motorists and that the children left the home as she tended to a camp fire.

The deputy arrested Shoultz after determining that the children could have been hurt in the roadway or near an adjacent pond.

She was charged with child abuse.

The children were turned over to their parents.

Shoultz, who was watching the children when the incident happened, was released from the Brevard County Jail on her own recognizance Sunday

The Brevard County Sheriff's report also said Shoultz was apparently intoxicated during the incident.

James

So basically the woman gave the girls the idea it was okay to drop trou and moon cars. That in turn drew attention to the fact that she was negligent in her duties as babysitter by  failing to supervise them and letting them stand by a roadway in the dark and moon cars as they sped past, . And, since Florida classifies Child Neglect under the Child Abuse Statute and the little girls are 6 and 8 years old I can see how she was charged with that.  

827.03  Abuse, aggravated abuse, and neglect of a child; penalties.-- (1)  "Child abuse" means: (a)  Intentional infliction of physical or mental injury upon a child; (b)  An intentional act that could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child; or (c)  Active encouragement of any person to commit an act that results or could reasonably be expected to result in physical or mental injury to a child. A person who knowingly or willfully abuses a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (2)  "Aggravated child abuse" occurs when a person: (a)  Commits aggravated battery on a child; (b)  Willfully tortures, maliciously punishes, or willfully and unlawfully cages a child; or (c)  Knowingly or willfully abuses a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child. A person who commits aggravated child abuse commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (3)(a)  "Neglect of a child" means: 1.  A caregiver's failure or omission to provide a child with the care, supervision, and services necessary to maintain the child's physical and mental health, including, but not limited to, food, nutrition, clothing, shelter, supervision, medicine, and medical services that a prudent person would consider essential for the well-being of the child; or 2.  A caregiver's failure to make a reasonable effort to protect a child from abuse, neglect, or exploitation by another person. Neglect of a child may be based on repeated conduct or on a single incident or omission that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, serious physical or mental injury, or a substantial risk of death, to a child. (b)  A person who willfully or by culpable negligence neglects a child and in so doing causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (c)  A person who willfully or by culpable negligence neglects a child without causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the child commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (4)  For purposes of this section, "maliciously" means wrongfully, intentionally, and without legal justification or excuse. Maliciousness may be established by circumstances from which one could conclude that a reasonable parent would not have engaged in the damaging acts toward the child for any valid reason and that the primary purpose of the acts was to cause the victim unjustifiable pain or injury. History.--s. 1, ch. 4721, 1899; s. 1, ch. 4971, 1901; GS 3236, 3238; RGS 5069, 5071; s. 1, ch. 9331, 1923; CGL 7171, 7173; s. 1, ch. 65-113; s. 1, ch. 70-8; s. 940, ch. 71-136; s. 49, ch. 74-383; s. 30, ch. 75-298; s. 1, ch. 84-238; s. 8, ch. 96-322; s. 16, ch. 99-168; s. 1, ch. 2003-130. Note.--Former s. 828.04.

It's all the same statute, but the penalties change depending on the seriousness of the offense.