Guy Ties Up 4-Year-Old So He Can Play Videogames

[The Wooster]

Guy Ties Up 4-Year-Old So He Can Play Videogames

One man's dumb decision to tie up a four-year-old girl so he could play games was bound to end in tears.

According to a court affidavit, one Heath Howe, a 27-year-old gentleman from Sarasota, was arrested after he tied up a four-year-old girl with rope and left her in the kitchen while he retired to the living room to play games. Howe's relation to the girl is currently unknown.

The girl told police she didn't think she was being punished because Howe didn't say anything to her while he tied her up. She also claimed it wasn't the first time she'd been tied up, though she couldn't provide any details about any other incidents.

It gets better. The girl's mother returned home from the gym accompanied by a friend called Tiffany, and not only did she not freak out when she found her daughter tied up, but she didn't even bother to free her. It was Tiffany who eventually let the girl loose. According to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, the girl had noticeable ligature marks on her arms. Howe has been charged with child abuse and is currently being held in jail.

Source: Sarasota Patch [http://sarasota.patch.com/articles/sheriff-s-office-man-tied-up-child-so-he-could-play-video-games]

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[=y]

When I'm a father I fully expect to give up gaming at the rate I do right now. I don't think this guy got the memo that children require constant attention even if he is just a babysitter instead of the father. I hope I never get video game addiction to the point where I'd tie up a child to maintain concentration.

 

[RaNDM G]

I blame the mother just as much as the father for thinking this is acceptable. That girl needs a new home.

 

[LilithSlave]

I really want a license to have children implemented. Right now.

There are limits to freedom. There are plenty of things are that a privilege and not a right, or a "right one must earn". This, quite appears to be one of them.

 

[Eleima]

When I'm a father I fully expect to give up gaming at the rate I do right now. I don't think this guy got the memo that children require constant attention even if he is just a babysitter instead of the father. I hope I never get video game addiction to the point where I'd tie up a child to maintain concentration.

You, my friend, have more common sense than these people. You can still game, as a parent, you just steer clear of multiplayer games (too time-consuming, no "press escape to pause" option, no saving whenever you want to), and wait until the tyke's asleep.

Seriously, I blame the mother as much as this man (father? new boyfriend? who knows...). I would've completely lost it if I'd returned home to see my son tied up to a chair. This is just so sad.
And the other thing that saddens the gamer within me is that people are going to blame video games again, when they should be blaming these people and how irresponsible they are...

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Shouldn't this be a "here's another unintelligent human being who should have been a Darwin Award recipient before procreating" thread rather than a "here's another unintelligent human being who should have been a Darwin Award recipient before procreating...and he plays video games" thread?

I question why Video Games was even mentioned at all. I guess it's another intent to paint video games as evil things that cause people to do bad things, which I really wouldn't expect from The Escapist... Shame.

Neeeeeeeeeever mind.

You know, I've said those who inherit and carry the Y chromosome are the scourge of the universe...but damn the lack of intelligence from those without the Y chromosome in regards to rutting partners makes it difficult to defend that statement at times.

 

[lacktheknack]

I question why Video Games was even mentioned at all. I guess it's another intent to paint video games as evil things that cause people to do bad things, which I really wouldn't expect from The Escapist... Shame.

Because honesty.

And the story is here in the first place because it has to do with video games.

The man clearly has A. an unhealthy obsession with games, B. absolutely no idea how to treat children, or C. both.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

I question why Video Games was even mentioned at all. I guess it's another intent to paint video games as evil things that cause people to do bad things, which I really wouldn't expect from The Escapist... Shame.

I don't think this is The Escapist or Carter going "Games Are Evil", and more Carter going "People Can Be Monumentally Stupid".

Which totally works, regardless of video games being involved. For all we know, Heath Howe could have been one hardcore Parcheesi player or have been into Chinese Checkers to such a degree that he needed to tie up a four year-old to maintain his concentration.

Yeah, I'm obviously joking here, but what I'm saying is this isn't an attempt to disparage gaming as a habit. It's more an observation of a very sad case of human stupidity.

 

[Kapol]

Because honesty.

And the story is here in the first place because it has to do with video games.

The man clearly has A. an unhealthy obsession with games, B. absolutely no idea how to treat children, or C. both.

I think a little of both based on what the story tells us, but leaning heavily towards B. It seems to be more B to me because of the fact that wife seemed to think nothing of it. Which, in of itself, is awful. Honestly this is just a sad story and I really hope that both the parents recieve some kind of punishement. The father for the obvious reasons, and the mother for allowing it to simply happen.

That said... it could have been worse. While this seems strange, I think it's better at least then flat out beating her. It is awful though. I really hope the girl finds a family that will, ya'know, care about her.

And, of course, this is all second hand information. There may be another side to the story... I'm just not sure how one could twist this to not be as bad.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

Fuck this guy for tying up the kid, fuck the mom for not giving a shit, and kudos to Tiffany for using her fucking brain.

Yes, I was a bit profane, but this kind of story pisses me off. Gamers are having enough trouble with politicians and media coverage without jack-offs like this giving them ammo.

 

[Eleima]

You know, I've said those who inherit and carry the Y chromosome are the scourge of the universe...but damn the lack of intelligence from those without the Y chromosome in regards to rutting partners makes it difficult to defend that statement at times.

Stupidity does not discriminate, it would seem!

 

[Beautiful End]

When I'm a father I fully expect to give up gaming at the rate I do right now. I don't think this guy got the memo that children require constant attention even if he is just a babysitter instead of the father. I hope I never get video game addiction to the point where I'd tie up a child to maintain concentration.

You, my friend, have more common sense than these people. You can still game, as a parent, you just steer clear of multiplayer games (too time-consuming, no "press escape to pause" option, no saving whenever you want to), and wait until the tyke's asleep.

And not even. If I was a parent and I was playing, I don't know, Blops in multiplayer and my kid started crying because he's hungry/scared/hit himself/whatever, I would still end up giving up on the game to take care of my kid. Multiplayer matches are endless. I can just quit this one, take care of the kid and go back to it.

Well, that's just me. I've done that before; someone walks in and starts talking about something important. To my annoyance, I have to admit their topic is a bit more relevant than the game at the time, so I either pause it and watch as I become a sitting duck or leave the match. And believe me, I love me some Gotham City Impostors multiplayer. But there are priorities.

PS: I love that "bad idea" seal of approval. I can see it as a car sticker or a pin or something.

 

[algalon]

The fact that this was not the first time the child had been tied up is all that needs said about this case. Some people just need rendered infertile for the sake of social progress. This guy is one of them. Might I suggest using a spoon to remove the offending members?

 

[JaceArveduin]

You know, I've said those who inherit and carry the Y chromosome are the scourge of the universe...but damn the lack of intelligence from those without the Y chromosome in regards to rutting partners makes it difficult to defend that statement at times.

You know, I found this hilarious as hell, and I'm not quite sure why...

 

[DustyDrB]

I want to think of this fellow as an oddball. But having read through a ton of threads on this site relating to kids, I can't say I don't think a number of people would do the same thing.

-Not wanting kids: Fine. I'm even with you on that one (though I have a nephew I love and am trying to indoctrinate in a few ways: HE MUST LOVE THE YANKEES)

-Hating kids: Errr. That's strong. Too strong.

-Wanting to abuse a kid in any way every time he/she makes a noise: Go to jail and stay there, asshole.

 

[Infernai]

I know i should be enraged at this, but all i am is incredibly confused: Why did he do this? What part of the brain made him think it was a good idea to do this? Why didn't the mother try and free her kid?
All i have are questions! I think my rage is in here somewhere, but I just find myself trying to discover why the hell this even happened to begin with.

That said, if someone could find an appropriate image to reflect confusion and rage on my behalf i would be incredibly grateful.

 

[Sarah Frazier]

What. The. Frell?!

This isn't the first time the kid was tied up, and nobody did anything about it until now? Or was something done before, but brushed off as some kind of BDSM thing?

I don't know about you guys, but four years old seems a little early for that kind of stuff.

Or maybe I'm just old fashioned...