A mom and dad are in police custody this week after allegedly killing the man pimping out their 17-year-old daughter after tracking him around Southern California. Want to hail Barry Gilton and Lupe Mercado as heroic parents? Not so fast.
Whether they actually rid the streets of a pimp or not is still up in the air. Gilton and Mercado's lawyer has indicated the parents will be pleading not guilty to all charges relating to the death of 22-year-old Calvin Sneed. And then there's this nagging truth: 17-year-old girls do not just run away from home and become prostitutes overnight.
The San Francisco area parents say that their daughter -- one of their three kids -- just disappeared on them awhile ago. After searching for her, they say they found her turning tricks, with Sneed, a gang member, as her pimp. They also say that they went to the authorities and got no help.
I feel for them. I really do.
But let's get real. There was something going on in that home well before their daughter ran away. Happy teenage girls do not just up and disappear. And they certainly do not turn to prostitution. There are risk factors for that kind of behavior: and 9 times out of 10, they lead right back to dear old Mom and Dad. I'm not saying they drove her to it per se, but they certainly raised this kid.
Even if Mercado and Gilton did not hunt down the man who they say was pimping out their daughter, then shoot at him twice, finally killing him on June 4, something stinks about this family and their story. Not convinced? How about this? Gilton has prior convictions for drug dealing and possession. Not exactly the upstanding citizen turned possible criminal just this once for the good of his child, huh?
If the couple did what they're accused of, they may have done it with the best of intentions. But they are far from innocent in all of this. Maybe if they'd parented a little better, they wouldn't be in this mess ... ?
What do you make of this whole situation? How could these parents have gotten around a possible murder of a pimp to prevent their teenager from being a prostitute?
Image via Foto_blog/Flickr
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Comments 76
Dear Ms. Sancti-mommy,
i fucking ran away one time because i wasn't allowed to go to the birthday party of the boy i had a crush on, because i was already grounded for getting drunk. i was only 15. luckily, the first guy i talked to, after asking him to buy me alcohol, asked me about my plans, like where i was going to go now that i ran away, and instead of buying me alcohol, he took me to a diner and stayed with me until he convinced me to call my mom to come get me. only when he was sure she was on her way did i convince him to go home, since it was 1am and he had a long walk home. and you know what made me rebel and run away? NOT my mom's parenting, but the fact that my dad died when i was 14.so there goes your theory.
you have NO IDEA what made this girl do what she did, and you have NO RIGHT to judge other people!! does it make you feel better, to think about how much better of a parent you are? are you really that arrogant? "maybe if they had parented a little better"?? i bet you won't be saying that about yourself if and/or WHEN your children don't turn out perfect. i think it's disturbing how you blame those parents, and in turn act all pretentious and superior to them. judging other people to make yourself feel better isn't a good example to set for your kids lady. stop being so sanctimonious.
WOW, are you *really* this ignorant or are you doing this for your blog? because, let's face facts the HAPPIEST of teenagers can run away, this "article" that you spewed forth should be rewritten all over again as if you had an ounce of common sense. and this is why I don't read these type of articles.
Everyone has a past, and no one is perfect. The fact that the father had previous run-ins with the law does not automactically make him a "bad" father nor person. In fact, although I don't advocate taking the law into your own hands, I also know that when it comes to one's children and their protection, all bets are off. Have you, the writer of this item, met ANY teenage prostitutes that are enjoying their life? Willfully engaging in selling their bodies to strangers? Do YOU have children? I don't, but I know the love of great parents who would stop at nothing to protect their kids, even if it means sacrificing their own lives and/or freedom to save their child. So to the author, you should be ashamed for a rush to judgement and indictment of these parents. Yes, it's fine to form your own opinions, but if you are going to present them to the public in a public forum, you should be able to back up your statements with reasonable and solid facts and details, not assumptions and character assasinations with certain broad tidbits (the father had previous drug convictions! The girl must not have been happy at home!). Walk in someone else's shoes before you pass judgement on their journey. If the shoes don't fit and you either don't know or can't understand their situation, refrain from throwing mud and stones.