News / International
Girl (14) smear classmates' houses with human excrement
15 Jun 2012 at 02:08hrs | Views
A mother has been accused of helping her 14-year-old daughter smear human excrement, swastikas and slurs in maple syrup on the houses of her classmates. Catharine Whelpley (43) has been charged with nine misdemeanors including vandalism, trespassing and contributing to the delinquency of minors.
Prosecutors say she drove her daughter and friends to vandalise the house of a former friend from her Los Angeles middle school with syrup, faeces and toilet paper.
They say the Northridge woman then took them to another girl's house in the San Fernando Valley, which belonged to the son of Holocaust survivors.
They did the same thing, but Whelpley's daughter also allegedly drew a swastika on the front door and wrote 'Jew' on a concrete path.
Whelpley waited for the girls to finish, then drove them home, it is claimed.
Surveillance video on a neighbour's house led police to Whelpley.
But the vandalism was also pictured by actor and comedian Jon Lovitz, who claimed on Twitter that the second house belonged to his friend.
He tweeted a photograph of the swastika and faeces outside the front door and wrote: 'Some coward & idiot left this on a friend's doorstep, yesterday. This is an insult to all of us.'
He added later: 'My friend's parents are Holocaust survivors.' He claims they did it to 'bully' his friend's daughter.
According to a report by the Los Angeles Daily News, the incident has also driven the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Los Angeles to hold discussions with youths about how to confront anti-Semitism.
The actions by the girls on April 3 do not constitute a hate crime because the words and symbols were written in material that can be washed off, the City Attorney's Office said.
But the Los Angeles-area director for the ADL, Amanda Susskind, said the decision to hold the mother accountable should be commended.
'The whole thing painted a picture of ugliness,' she said.
If convicted on all charges, Whelpley could face up to seven years in county jail or a $13 500 fine, according to prosecutor Ayelet Feiman.
Whelpley's arraignment is scheduled for June 28.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the number of hate crimes fell by 28 per cent in the county in 2010, but California leads the country in anti-Semitic incidents, with 297 reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 2010, the last year for which data was released.
Prosecutors say she drove her daughter and friends to vandalise the house of a former friend from her Los Angeles middle school with syrup, faeces and toilet paper.
They say the Northridge woman then took them to another girl's house in the San Fernando Valley, which belonged to the son of Holocaust survivors.
They did the same thing, but Whelpley's daughter also allegedly drew a swastika on the front door and wrote 'Jew' on a concrete path.
Whelpley waited for the girls to finish, then drove them home, it is claimed.
Surveillance video on a neighbour's house led police to Whelpley.
But the vandalism was also pictured by actor and comedian Jon Lovitz, who claimed on Twitter that the second house belonged to his friend.
He tweeted a photograph of the swastika and faeces outside the front door and wrote: 'Some coward & idiot left this on a friend's doorstep, yesterday. This is an insult to all of us.'
According to a report by the Los Angeles Daily News, the incident has also driven the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Los Angeles to hold discussions with youths about how to confront anti-Semitism.
The actions by the girls on April 3 do not constitute a hate crime because the words and symbols were written in material that can be washed off, the City Attorney's Office said.
But the Los Angeles-area director for the ADL, Amanda Susskind, said the decision to hold the mother accountable should be commended.
'The whole thing painted a picture of ugliness,' she said.
If convicted on all charges, Whelpley could face up to seven years in county jail or a $13 500 fine, according to prosecutor Ayelet Feiman.
Whelpley's arraignment is scheduled for June 28.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the number of hate crimes fell by 28 per cent in the county in 2010, but California leads the country in anti-Semitic incidents, with 297 reported to the Anti-Defamation League in 2010, the last year for which data was released.
Source - Daily Mail.
