Mom Turns In ‘Olympic Ambassador’ Daughter As London Riot Suspect

There’s been much discussion this week about lousy parenting being at least partially to blame for the London riots. But at least one mother is proving just the opposite she has reported her own daughter to the police as a riot suspect after spotting her on a television news report.

Chelsea Ives, an 18-year-old Olympic ambassador and promising athlete, allegedly threw bricks at a police car on Sunday during the violence in Enfield, reports The Sun. Her mother, Adrienne Ives, called her decision to turn her daughter in “gut wrenching” but that it’s what any “honest” parent would do. She tells The Sun:

“I had to do what was right. Roger [her husband] and I were watching the news and it was absolutely sickening. And then we saw our daughter among the crowds… I could not believe it. For a minute we did not know what to do. But then, what could normal, honest parents do?… How can you sit there and see that and say: ‘That’s OK’? We were watching people lose their homes and businesses. She won’t thank us. I will be portrayed as a bitch. But what were we supposed to do?”

The teenager reportedly plans to plead not guilty. She’s set to appear in court on August 17.

What do you think? Did this mother make the right decision, however gut-wrenching, or should she have kept quiet? Do you think many moms would have the strength to report her own child to police? Would you?

(Photo: gaurdian.co.uk)