Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri

child neglect/abuse

my exwife has known my daughter(turns 17 in may),whom she has custody of,has been seeing/having a relationship with a 24 yr. old male for 2 years now. i just found out about this from my daughter during a phone call . i called my ex's sisters who live in the same town, and they both insist my ex knows this has been going on & has done nothing till recently(because i now have knowlegde. my daughter is planning on running away with 24 yr. old when she turns 17 in may. before i call police on 24yr. old, can my ex be arrested as well? if i call police, my daughter said she will kill herself if the 24yr old is arrested. my daughter claims she has been on her own for 2 yrs now with little or no supervision, please help, i feel like i have no legal recourse, please advise. thank you


Asked on 2/11/08, 9:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Steele Steele Law Firm

Re: child neglect/abuse

Teenagers often make claims of "killing themselves" to scare parents. However, I cannot comment on those issues as I am not a therapist, just a lawyer. You need to call the police. As to the mother, I think there is a good case of child endangerment, as the mother appears to not be doing her job. There may be more facts than those presented here, so I am cautious to take a firm legal position. We all know the 24/17 year old thing is stat rape, so get that moving.

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Answered on 2/11/08, 6:49 pm


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