Mother Of The Year Forces Kids To Shoplift And Tries To Blame Them When She’s Caught”

shoplifting

A 36-year old mom in Ohio involved her kids in shoplifting at a local Walmart. Security cameras caught them over the course of two separate instances. Among other punishments, a judge ordered her to write her daughters a letter about how wrong it is to steal, and I think that is a brilliant idea. Kids pay attention to their parents and learn their values from them. What kind of mother forces kids to shoplift and then tries to blame them for it? I feel awful for these girls.

From Logan Daily:

Hallie Thomas, 36, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon with her defense attorney Don Kline for a change of plea hearing and sentencing. As part of the sentencing, Moses made it very clear to Thomas that it was wrong to involve children in criminal behavior.

According to the Logan Police report, Thomas and her two daughters were observed on March 5 at Walmart concealing merchandise in a clothes hamper and attempted to leave the store when police officers stopped her.

She and her daughters also were first witnessed on video surveillance on Feb. 17 shoplifting merchandise. The video revealed that Thomas’ daughters entered Walmart with their mother wearing dark-colored coats, and left wearing pink coats and had concealed several items under their coats.

 

Thomas first denied knowing her daughters had stolen the merchandise, but pleaded guilty to the charges in court Tuesday. She was originally charged with two counts each of petty theft, contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child, and child endangering.

Shoplifting is never ok. No matter your life circumstances, I can never say that stealing is the right answer. I am not sure if a deep need motivated this woman or if she was just shoplifting out of pure greed. That said, if you are going to shoplift because you can’t scrape by, at least don’t involve your children and then try to pin the crime on them. The fact that she denied knowing her daughters had stolen merchandise, despite the fact that she put them up to it, is deplorable. No articles I have found on this incident state the ages of her daughters but kids are impressionable at most any age when it comes to their parents. I know I believed every word mine said up until a certain age. It is sick of her to take advantage of that trust and to involve them in an actual crime. I applaud the judge for considering her daughters by forcing her to apologize to them- combined with the rest of her sentence, I think it should stop her from considering doing it again:

Moses imposed a $300 fine on each charge, 10 days in jail, five days of community service, two years community control/probation, no drugs or alcohol, submit to all drug and alcohol screens, stay away from Walmart, attend shoplifting classes and write a letter to her children and also provide a copy to the probation department and court.

I don’t know that reading their mother’s words will be enough to prevent these girls from ever shoplifting again but I think it was important that she do it. They need to know that what happened was wrong and that their mother will not endorse that behavior going forward. I truly hope that this letter and the rest of her sentence are enough to deter her from future criminal behavior. Hopefully, the knowledge that she not only broke the law but risked damaging her daughters will be the motivation she needs to stay on the straight and narrow. For the kids’ sake, I hope that is the case.

(Image: Steve Lovegrove/Shutterstock)

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