man charged for sunburn

[Tedob1]

Dad Charged For Not Using Enough Sunblock On 12-Year-Old
Boy Severely Burned

POSTED: 1:17 pm EDT May 26, 2004
UPDATED: 2:05 pm EDT May 26, 2004

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. -- A man has been charged with child abuse for not applying enough sunblock to his 12-year-old son before a day at the beach.

The boy was severely burned as a result, authorities said.

Walter McKelvie Jr., 43, of Vineland, was indicted Tuesday and charged with one count of child abuse and neglect in the July 20 incident, in which he took his mentally disabled son to the beach in Wildwood.

The son, identified only as R.M., suffered large, bleeding blisters on his back and face. Authorities were alerted by the boy's mother, who has custody of him but was not with him at the beach, according to Assistant Cape May County Prosecutor Meghan Hoerner.

She took the boy to the hospital and then reported the incident to authorities.

McKelvie told investigators he put sunblock on the boy, but the indictment said he failed "to apply enough sunscreen causing severe sunburn to R.M." while he had custody of him.

If convicted, McKelvie could face up to 18 months in prison.

http://www.local6.com/news/3349031/detail.html

[RoadClosed]

Guess my mum and dad would be hardened criminals by now. I went to the pool on day and got the same thing. Lesson learned by me.... use sun block.

[Raion]

Can you get convicted for not using enough sun block on yourself? The charge? Suicide

[Negative]

Baz Luhrman - Sunscreen Speech

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ‘99...Wear sunscreen

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind...the race is long, and in the end it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what to do with your life...the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary...what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can...don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance...even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you’ll never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, price will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time it’s 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen...

Some people never learn...

[MrLinus]

As someone who has had such a burn, it is painful. 2nd degree means blisters. Usually can also mean heat stroke and sun stroke. I've had it this bad once while biking through PEI. I forgot to re-apply sunscreen.

Parents should be responsible for this kind of stuff. Had it been any hotter on that day, his son might be more worse for wear.

[MURACU]

MsMittens
While i do agree that parents should be responsible for making sure that their children are protected I find it over the top to charge someone with child abuse for not applying enough sunblock. It sounds more like the mother of the child is just using it as way to stop him from seeing his child, as if he gets convicted of child abuse he may loose all visiting rights.
It is one stupid reason to get a criminal record marked child abuser. I wonder what effect that will have on his private and proffessional life.
Of course if ths happened almost anywhere than the states it would not have even made it to a trail.

[MrLinus]

Actually, if it happened in Canada, I believe that Doctors are required to report it. While the ultimate reason is perhaps an issue relating to the divorce, this shouldn't be thought of as a joke. This is a serious issue. Parents are supposed to be responsible for their kids. If he had left the kid in the car and the kid was suffering heat stroke, you'd probably view it differently. Reality is that severe sunburn is painful and can have some serious long term effects (skin cancer isn't fun).

[RoadClosed]

I also broke my arm riding my bicycle, twice. My mother should have been sentenced to 2 years in prison.

[CXGJarrod]

Originally posted here by RoadClosed
I also broke my arm riding my bicycle, twice. My mother should have been sentenced to 2 years in prison.

in which he took his mentally disabled son to the beach in Wildwood.

There is a difference though RoadClosed. The kid was mentally disabled. The article does not say how far, but he might not of been able to comprehend what was happening.

[OverdueSpy]

If the father did not care about his son, I doubt that he would have taken his son to the beach in the first place. In my view he made an understandable mistake and the guilt he feels is probably sufficient punishment. However, if the state needs to fine the father to make a point to the father, I can understand that. Unless this is a repeat offense, I feel that neither jail time nor the money, time, and effort that would be spent on a trial would be warranted.