Christian group's diaper 'contest' no crime, DA says
Mt. Lebanon police investigated a Christian youth group after the mother of one of its members complained about an activity during which her 14-year-old son wore a diaper and bonnet while sitting on a girl's lap.
No crime occurred, police said, but they forwarded the complaint to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. because of "the nature of the allegations, and the attention that the incident has garnered," said Mt. Lebanon police Lt. Kenneth M. Truver.
"We cannot find anything that would constitute a crime," Zappala spokesman Mike Manko said Friday. The mother, who Truver declined to identify, sent an e-mail to police Nov. 30 alleging inappropriate conduct occurred at an event the day before at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center sponsored by Young Life, a national youth group.
The mother brought her son to the police station Thursday. The boy described the activity as a "contest" where he and two other boys wore bonnets, diapers over their clothing and bibs. They sat "on the laps of female participants while being fed baby food and soda" from a baby bottle, police said.
The team that finished the food and drink first won, according to police. The boy told police he wasn't forced to take part in the contest.
"While the specifics of these activities may be viewed as unorthodox, based on the investigation, there is nothing to indicate that any crime occurred," Truver said in an e-mail.
"We hardly ever get complaints," said Dan Raeder, chairman of the South Hills chapter of Young Life, a nondenominational Christian organization. The group, which has chapters across the country, is not affiliated with a church.
Raeder, who was not present during the event, noted that it was the boy's mother -- not the boy -- who complained. "I think he actually had a great time."
"We wish people would just come and see what (the group) is doing, and then see what they think about it," said Raeder, who could not discuss the goal of the event.
Young Life rents a room at the recreation center about once a week, said David Donnellan, the center's director. Nobody complained about the event to center staff and the activity did not violate any rental policies, he said. "I'm really surprised a church group would do this kind of thing," said township Commissioner Dale Colby. "There's probably not much we can do about it legally, but maybe we could have a conversation with whoever the leader was."
I'm not sure I even want to know what mom was reading into this activity.
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