Couple Cleared Of Child Sex Charges-Pic of Dad kissing Son on bellybutton

[Champ]

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Parents who were charged with child abuse last August have been exonerated and reunited with their children.

Charbel Hamaty was charged with sexually assaulting his newborn son, and Teresa Hamaty was arrested for taking sexually explicit pictures.

The couple describe the ordeal as a "nightmare" that started over a roll of film that Charbel Hamaty dropped off at a north Raleigh Eckerd.

The photo that raised alarms shows a naked Kristoff, now 16-months-old, getting a kiss from his father on the belly button, Teresa Hamaty said.

When the photos were shown to the police, the couple was arrested, and Kristoff was put in protective custody, while his half-sister, Victoria, was handed over to her birth father.

Teresa Hamaty was released on bond, but wasn't allowed contact with her children for months.

Charbel Hamaty spent six months in prison before the charges were dropped because of a report submitted by an expert saying there was no criminal intent in the photos.

http://www.nbc17.com/news/4773243/detail.html

[arwalden]

1. That's Sad.

[MissHoneychurch]

2. where did the world come to

when a father isn't allowed anymore to kiss his baby on its belly. And who are those people that press charges against the parents? :eyes:

[LaurenG]

3. Paranoia self detroyer

I hope that we can come to our senses soon. We are ruining things because of our fears. Where is our common sense.

[acmavm]

4. There seriously needs to be some sort of civil repurcussions for

someone in this case. Whatever filthy minded moran called to gestapo and had the guy arrested really needs his ass kicked up between his earlobes.

I'd fix whoever that was, I'd make them spend the rest of their lives in a cell with Phyllis Schafly. Screw any claims of cruel and unusual punishment. I'd make it life without parole.

[kick-ass-bob]

9. I can definitely see a big fat lawsuit over this one.

I hope I get on the jury.

[acmavm]

11. Judging from your 'name', I hope you do too,

Go get 'em.

[RebelOne]

12. That's just what I was thinking.

Law suit! Law suit! Boy, I hope they have already gotten a lawyer. If I was imprisoned falsely, the moment I was released, I would be phoning attorneys.

[kick-ass-bob]

16. I'm sure they have had lawyers phoning them.

:thumbsup:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. I hope they get enough money to put their kids through college.

[youthere]

5. Six months in prison...

"Charbel Hamaty spent six months in prison before the charges were dropped.."


Despicable.

[blondeatlast]

19. I hope he sues their asses but good, and that kick-ass-bob is on

the jury.

Six months? Hideous.

[RedCloud]

32. I agree with all the vengeful lawsuits over this hysteria.

It seems all of the prosecution got caught up in a "We want to prosecute Michael Jackson here" hysteria.

They should imprison the judge and the prosecutor in cases like this, and I mean in places where their cellmates want to be their soul mates so they will know the difference!

[arwalden]

6. So Let That Be A Lesson To You... PRINT PHOTOS AT HOME!

[progmom]

7. well....that's depressing

x(

[johnnie]

8. This is terrible

Truth is though, if something would have happened later, people would be screaming for the heads of those who didn't see the "raised flags".
Why it took so long to clear them is what I don't understand. 6 months? WTF?

[SoCalDem]

10. Parents have to use digital ...not photo developing these days..

There are people in those places who are obviously NOT parents and who have an "agenda".. EVERY parent has taken pictures of their babies/toddlers running around naked.. Babies DO get kissed INNOCENTLY on their bellies, feet, necks..you name it.. There's nothing More kissable than a freshly bathed baby/toddler..

Can you even imagine the damage that's been done to that family and those kids??:(

[China_cat]

15. Rarely do guilty people

drop off film to be developed. Polaroid is preferred by pedophiles.

[SoCalDem]

28. That's why innocent parents get caught up in this stuff...But

parents need to start thinking ahead..Parents also put out innocent pics on the web for Granny to se the latest pics, and they do some pretty crazy things.. I once emailed a lady because she had those semi-clothed toddler pics of her 2 little girls AND a MAP of how to get to their new house for the annual barbeque..They removed the site after the email

[BiggJawn]

13. So when Kristoff blows away a 7-11 clerk 18 years from now...

All the social workers will be going "Kay, WHAT when wrong in this family, Mmmmm?"

[China_cat]

14. The people that turned this family in are likely to be

the same ones who decry (loudly) the fact that kids are killing kids and our children seem to have no sense of control...that they are filled with rage and anger.

How can our children NOT be, when even parents are afraid to touch them with love for fear of being jailed? When ANY touch is considered to be a -bad- touch. We know that physically babies actually die from a lack of touch. Failure to thrive from not being held and cuddled and comforted.

As they grow, how can we not see that we kill their spirits with the lack of a hug, sitting with your arm around a child, holding their hands for more than safety crossing a street?

Protecting our kids? I think we're at the point of protecting them into being sociopaths. How do they learn to love and care for others if they aren't allowed to experience it?

[lpbk2713]

17. North Carolina ...... Isn't that Falwell country?

That explains a lot. Why he was turned in and why it took so long to exonerate him. If the consequences weren't so tragic this would be ludicrous.

[kick-ass-bob]

20. No - It's my Fucking Country.

Give me a fucking break.

You really want to start state wars? You are from Florida.

[MountainLaurel]

23. Falwell is VA

Lynchburg to be exact (Pat Robertson's empire is down in the Tidewater region).

[lpbk2713]

24. My mistake

And deepest apologies to Kick-ass-Bob for having offended him.


(It still sounds like fundies were involved however)

[kick-ass-bob]

26. accepted.

but, the problem with saying "_____ country" -- whoever that may be, is that people have followings all over the place, it doesn't matter where they start up - because they could start in a whole host of places.

:thumbsup:

[Shell Beau]

18. WTF?

That is beyond ridiculous. I hope they get even!

[LynneSin]

21. I'm going to say the 2 more important words about all of this:

DIGITAL CAMERA

Seriously, who are these idiots at the photomats who think they are the ones to pass judgement on the pictures they are developing. Those photos are private property! Having said that I am even more determined to get a digital camera because I do NOT want anyone looking at my pictures who aren't suppose to be looking at them

[progmom]

25. my husband came very close to getting arrested over a picture of our dog

She had been skunked, and we didn't have any tomato juice, so we used tomato paste (yes, yes - I know, that doesn't work!). She's a white dog, and the result was hilarious - it looked like we were butchering her. I took a pic and promptly forgot all about it.


Months later, progdad walked into the photomat to pick up our pics. He happened to walk in just as the dog/tomato paste pic was rolling off the machine. The clerk picked it up, yelled "Fuck me!!!" and started to reach for the phone. He then saw progdad and started waving the picture around saying: "How the hell do you explain this??? What did you do to this dog?!? I'm calling the cops!!!" Thank God I had placed a can of tomato paste in the picture - progdad was able to point it out and calm the guy down.

[Champ]

27. LOL - that's funny

[GoddessOfGuinness]

30. How long ago was this?

Sounds like the same sort of knee-jerk reaction we've been encouraged to act upon since 9/11.

[Schema Thing]

22. Outrageous. Just effing outrageous.

I can't even process this.

[tigereye]

31. that is horrifying!

how can people not know what parenting is all about? This type of thing indicates such paranoia and such a loss of innocence. I hope they get a lot of money, too. Imagine the people who would think that something like that is a sign of sexual abuse? !

:wtf:

[XanaDUer]

33. Hmmm. Photo lab clerks (maybe?),

pharmacists cutting off women from their meds due to "moral values"..it's worth your life to walk into a neighborhood drugstore anymore.

[philosophie_en_rose]

35. It's corporate policy.

At Walmart and other places. Photo lab cashiers are told to censor pictures, report suspicious pictures, and protect copyrighted photos.

Still, only an idiot would report a photo of a baby being kissed on the belly. However, it's hard to tell without looking at the photo.

[Redstone]

34. And here we thought the Taliban was only

in Afghanistan.

Fuck me, when you can't even buzz your kid's belly anymore, it's REALLY time to leave the country.

This story is unutterably depressing.

Redstone