Just an odd little headline I found today....
REGINA — A bizarre incident that culminated in a teenaged girl being locked in the trunk of a car may have been an “intervention” motivated by love — as one lawyer says — but it was also criminal.
Tracy Emke pleaded guilty to the assault and unlawful confinement of her teenaged daughter for an incident that occurred in Regina in November. The girl sat beside her mother while the matter was dealt with at Regina Provincial Court on Wednesday, both occasionally crying.
The confrontation took place at a house in Regina on the evening of Nov. 9, when Emke and her son showed up looking for the girl, then 16.
A scuffle ensued when Emke confronted her daughter inside the house, and the mother slapped and punched the girl, appearing at one point to choke her.
Emke’s son then carried his sister out of the house kicking and screaming, and put her into the trunk of a car.
The car was on the Ring Road when the girl opened the trunk from inside. When the car pulled over, the teen jumped out of the trunk and ran across the road, where she was tackled by her brother. Emke convinced the girl to talk to them for half an hour, which she did. After that, mother and son dropped the girl off at a residence in Regina.
But defence lawyer Tim Beler told court there were other circumstances that led to the emotionally-charged situation. He said the situation began months earlier, when the family moved to a new town in Saskatchewan. Beler said the girl was being seriously bullied at school, and school officials were not helping with the problem.
Eventually the girl ran away to Regina, where she stayed with friends, drinking and doing drugs. Her family had been looking for her for 3 1/2 weeks when they finally located her in November.
Beler said police and social agencies had been unable to help the family, leading the woman to take the law into her own hands. He said she was in a panic, and motivated only by wanting to help and protect her daughter.
Beler said Emke feels bad, but added, “Would she do it again to save her daughter? I think she would.”
He said mother and daughter have since rebuilt their relationship, and are now best friends.
“The family has come together,” Beler said. “They’ve gone through hell but they’ve survived.”
The woman received a one-year conditional sentence in the community, six months of which will be served under electronic monitoring. She will also face a year of probation.
The girl’s brother was also charged, but the charges were stayed on Wednesday.
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Originally Posted by radiojane
