Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network

Massachusetts Police News, Information and Discussions on MassCops

Posted by: kwflatbed


Photo by Herald staff
Two tots who had their terror-stricken faces posted on MySpace after their mother duct-taped them to chairs remain at home under her care.

A Bellingham mother busted for duct-taping her two tots to chairs and posting pictures of their terror-stricken faces on MySpace [website] continues to care for the children, despite concerns for their safety.
Amber Green, 24, and her fiance, Lee Smith, 30, have been free on personal recognizance since their Feb. 21 arraignment in Milford District Court on two counts each of assault and battery.
The Department of Social Services - under fire for failing to protect a 7-year-old Middleboro boy who was allegedly burned and urinated on by his mother’s boyfriend - has taken ’‘custody” of the 6-year-old Bellingham boy and his 4-year-old sister, as well as their 2-year-old sibling.

But the three kids continue to live with Green and Smith at home - a dilapidated single-family structure with boarded windows, a porch permeated with the stench of urine and a refrigerator in the driveway with its door still attached.
“What does it take? Dead bodies? It goes to show you that kids mean nothing in this state,” said child-protection advocate Laurie Myers, president of Community Voices, Moms on a Mission.
“A parent can say, ‘Well, it was a joke,’ and the state agency assigned to deal with this doesn’t think it’s a big deal,” Myers said. “How many red flags have to go up? And then, is it too late?”
An unidentified woman who discovered the photos online on Green’s MySpace page notified Bellingham police on Jan. 19. According to a police report, Green told officers her son and daughter “asked to play with the tape and wanted to be tied up.”
After she and Smith complied, Green snapped digital photos of the children “and downloaded them on the Web site for her friends to view,” the report said.
But police noted, “The tape was wrapped approx. 10 times around there(sic) stomach/chest area and close to their throat. It is a possibility that the children may have had a difficult time breathing.”
The toddlers in the pictures were described by police as “extremely upset and crying.”
A DSS spokeswoman said the Bellingham case is “absolutely not” another Middleboro.
“We’re confident there’s no imminent risk,” spokeswoman Alison Goodwin said. “We’re working with the family. We’re monitoring closely what’s going on.”
Bellingham Police Lt. Kevin Ranieri called the whole situation “bizarre.”
“I hope and believe (DSS) did their homework,” Ranieri said. “I’m sure they didn’t take it lightly.”
Green did not respond to multiple requests for comment either by phone or at her home.
One neighbor of Green’s, speaking on condition of anonymity, said she found the 4-year-old sitting outside crying last summer long after dark.
“She had a little dress on and she was soaked,” the neighbor alleged. “She was covered in urine.”
Green and Smith are due back before a judge Monday for a pre-trial conference.



http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1084199

---

Posted by: kwflatbed

Duct tape case plea deal expected

Mike Springer/Daily News staff
Amber Green looks up at her fiance, Lee Smith, during their appearance in April in Milford District Court.


By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff
GHS
Posted Oct 03, 2008 @ 11:49 PM

MILFORD —
A prosecutor said in court yesterday the case of a Bellingham couple accused of duct-taping their two children to chairs and posting photos of them crying on MySpace.com will likely end in a plea bargain.
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle told Judge Robert Calagione that she expects the case against Amber Green and Lee Smith to be resolved at their next court date on Nov. 11.
Green, 24, and Smith, 29, are each charged with three counts of child endangerment, two counts of assault and battery and one count of failing to remove doors from a refrigerator after the incident on Jan. 2.
Tim Connolly, spokesman for the district attorney's office, said a disposition of the case is expected.
"I'm not going to get into the variables of what that could be," he said.
Calagione yesterday set the November court date and ordered Green and Smith continue abiding by the conditions of their release - that they comply with Department of Social Services orders and not abuse any household member.
The photos of Green's 5- and 6-year-old children strapped to chairs surfaced in February, when a woman told Bellingham Police she saw the "disturbing photos" of the children on Green's MySpace page.
After viewing the pictures, Officer David Ayotte said Green and her fiance Smith "went to the extreme in wrapping duct tape around the kids."
The tape was wrapped about 10 times around the children's stomachs and chests and close to their throats, police said.
"It is a possibility that the children may have had a difficult time breathing," according to the police report.
When questioned by police, Green said her children "asked to play with the tape and wanted to be tied up," the police report said.
The children remain in the custody of their mother, while DSS officials closely monitor the family.
Outside the courthouse, they declined comment.


http://www.milforddailynews.com/news...-deal-expected

---

vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
vB Easy Archive Final ©2000 - 2008 - Created by Stefan "Xenon" Kaeser