When Ronald Jackson found a text he thought was rude and inappropriate on his then-12-year-old daughter’s phone in September 2013, he took the cell away. But the child’s mother, Michelle Steppe, balked at his action — and she called the police.
Steppe and Jackson have not been a couple for years, and Steppe is now married to a Grand Prairie, Texas, police officer. When the police showed up at Jackson’s door later that day and asked for the iPhone 4 back, Jackson refused. “At that point I decided the police don’t interfere with my ability to parent my daughter,” he told KHOU 11 News on Wednesday.
The cellphone in question. (Photo: KHOU)
But Steppe insisted that the phone belonged to her, and three months after Jackson refused to return it, he got a citation in the mail for theft of property. He was offered a plea deal in January 2014 if he would return the phone. Instead, Jackson hired an attorney and requested a jury trial.
The case moved to Dallas County and, unbeknownst to Jackson, a warrant was issued for his arrest. The police showed up at his door around 2 a.m. in April 2015, and Jackson was handcuffed and taken to jail.
“It made no sense to me for them to show up and make a big deal out of something that was a small thing,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t believe they would go to this extent for a cellphone. It didn’t seem right.” He posted $1,500 bail and was released after a night in jail.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cameron Gray, Jackson’s defense attorney, told KHOU Wednesday. “You would think we were on the Jerry Springer Show.”
After just a two-day trial — in which Jackson’s daughter, now 15, testified — Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green ordered the jury to find Jackson not guilty, citing insufficient evidence to prove a theft charge. Steppe disagrees with the verdict. “Even if you purchase something with your own money and have a receipt, it’s not yours,” she said. “Someone can take it from you.”
Steppe and her daughter. (Photo: KHOU)
Although Jackson won the case and is allowed to keep the phone, he said he has had to separate himself from Steppe and his daughter because of this incident. “I can’t ever have a relationship with them again,” he said.
On KHOU’s Facebook page, most commenters have been supportive of Jackson’s disciplinary action. One person wrote, “Good job dad. Inappropriate text are definitely a reason to lose the phone.” Another lamented the big-picture consequences: “The poor girl just lost her relationship with her dad because her mom was being petty.”
Still another commenter wished both parents had acted differently, posting, “In my eyes both of them have growing up to do,” and suggesting that Jackson’s punishment hold for his home but not the mother’s. “It’s called co-parenting for a reason people!”
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
That's the one who has the right to take the phone.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
We've never had this problem with SS's phone. My ex bought my son a phone when he was younger and I took it away. He didn't even ask me.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
Dad was right on this one. Mom is a crazy person. This should never have involved the police or the courts.
If you are under the age of 18 and you don't want to lose your phone, don't do things that would cause your parent to take it. Children don't have the same rights and freedoms that adults have, and there's a reason for that.
Dad was right on this one. Mom is a crazy person. This should never have involved the police or the courts.
If you are under the age of 18 and you don't want to lose your phone, don't do things that would cause your parent to take it. Children don't have the same rights and freedoms that adults have, and there's a reason for that.
Sure--but what was the upshot here?
The fact is that now he has no relationship with his daughter--and the crazy person is the one completely raising her. Is that truly the goal?
Sometimes, even if you are right--there are better courses of action.
-- Edited by huskerbb on Wednesday 27th of January 2016 11:42:27 PM
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
The only reason it got so far is because the mom remarried and is married to a cop.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
The only reason it got so far is because the mom remarried and is married to a cop.
That may be true--but knowing that doesn't change what now IS.
He has no relationship with his daughter--and crazy mom and the cop are raising her without his input. Is that the goal?
I have a feeling the way these two go that would have been the final result phone or no phone.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
The only reason it got so far is because the mom remarried and is married to a cop.
That may be true--but knowing that doesn't change what now IS.
He has no relationship with his daughter--and crazy mom and the cop are raising her without his input. Is that the goal?
I have a feeling the way these two go that would have been the final result phone or no phone.
Well, he'd always have to deal with the ex. That's just they way it is when you choose to have children with someone and not raise them together--as in the same damn house.
However, he could have at least had some relationship with his daughter and had SOME influence on her.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
If he bought and paid for the phone, he can take it away. If she bought and paid for the phone, he can take it away while the daugther is at his house, but give it back to her when she leaves. It really isn't rocket science.
That's the one who has the right to take the phone.
I wondered that too. One story I found said that the mom paid for the phone, maintained the account in her name and all that.
If that's the case, I think he should have explained why he took it and gave it back to the mom.
The father has as much right to parent as he sees fit as the mother. IMHO, dad was right.
He doesn't get to just keep a phone he didn't pay for. No, dad is NOT in the right. He shod have kept the phone when she was at his house, and discussed the text with mom.
Although, I bet any divorced geeks here would FLIP OUT if their child went to the ex's house and had their phone removed, for any reason. It smacks as a way to prevent kid from contacting mom.
Dad was right in the parenting department, and he had every right to take it away while she was there. He then should have given the phone to mom when he dropped off the kid and explained the situation, and then she should have backed up the punishment at home. Refusing the give back the phone to mom was where he went wrong.
But if mom was completely unconcerned about inappropriate texting, then he's the better parent.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
We also don't know what she was texting. He said he considered it rude, but what does that mean?
That doesn't really matter. He's the dad. It's his opinion that counts when he is parenting her.
Oh, mom still should have backed him up-- but they needed to agree on for how long to keep the phone away, and, for future reference, what actually constituted a punishable offense.
We also don't know what she was texting. He said he considered it rude, but what does that mean?
That doesn't really matter. He's the dad. It's his opinion that counts when he is parenting her.
Oh, mom still should have backed him up-- but they needed to agree on for how long to keep the phone away, and, for future reference, what actually constituted a punishable offense.
Well, it doesn't sound like they are capable of co-parenting together.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Those who have never dealt with an ex and Co parenting have no real idea how it ends up being.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I also think he should confiscate phone when she was with him but give it back to the mother. But she had no reason to get him arrested. And he's writing his daughter off? Both parents are arseholes.
-- Edited by Mary Zombie on Thursday 28th of January 2016 09:44:43 PM
Those who have never dealt with an ex and Co parenting have no real idea how it ends up being.
This. And the way the law reads in TX, which is where this case is, is that your child has to be accessible to the other parent. That only means there has to be a phone available for the child to talk to the other parent. It doesn't promise them a phone of their own. We take SS's phone away when he comes to our house. His grandma will text him at one and two in the morning. We have a land line and each of us have a cell so she can call him at a decent hour on any of those lines. You also can't refuse to let your child talk to the other parent while they are with you. HOWEVER, the courts will rule in your favor if the other parent calls a hundred times a day or late at night. Phone issues are one of the biggest issues that the step parent board talks about.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
If i paid for the one and an ex took it i would be pissed.
WE bought the phone and pay for it. BUT, we take it away when he comes here because he doesn't need it. He can call his mom on the landline or dad or my cell anytime he wants. He has never asked to call his grandma but if he did we would let him. On the land line. We have never kept him from the phone when either his mom or his grandma called him here at our house. So he doesn't need his cell phone here. There are multiple phones available for him. And if his grandma called him on the phone at two am we would not wake him up unless it was an emergency. There is no reason for her to be texting him at one and two am. As parents we complain our kids are tired and too attached to the phone all the time and then we allow texting all night long so we really have no one to blame. He's 11. He has plenty enough of his life left to spend on the phone.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou
I also think he should confiscate phone when she was with him but give it back to the mother. But she had no reason to get him arrested. And he's writing his daughter off? Both parents are arseholes.
-- Edited by Mary Zombie on Thursday 28th of January 2016 09:44:43 PM
It's probably the other way around. She's old enough now to decide she doesn't want to see him.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
If i paid for the one and an ex took it i would be pissed.
WE bought the phone and pay for it. BUT, we take it away when he comes here because he doesn't need it. He can call his mom on the landline or dad or my cell anytime he wants. He has never asked to call his grandma but if he did we would let him. On the land line. We have never kept him from the phone when either his mom or his grandma called him here at our house. So he doesn't need his cell phone here. There are multiple phones available for him. And if his grandma called him on the phone at two am we would not wake him up unless it was an emergency. There is no reason for her to be texting him at one and two am. As parents we complain our kids are tired and too attached to the phone all the time and then we allow texting all night long so we really have no one to blame. He's 11. He has plenty enough of his life left to spend on the phone.
And, that's fine. Your house your rules. ANd, if you bought and pay for the phone, then you have control over it. If the ex bought and paid for a phone for the child, then the other parent doesn't have a right to confiscate it and keep it. Yes, keep it during visits but give it back when leaving.
I also think he should confiscate phone when she was with him but give it back to the mother. But she had no reason to get him arrested. And he's writing his daughter off? Both parents are arseholes.
-- Edited by Mary Zombie on Thursday 28th of January 2016 09:44:43 PM
It's probably the other way around. She's old enough now to decide she doesn't want to see him.
I'm sure that's it.
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I'm not arguing, I'm just explaining why I'm right.
Well, I could agree with you--but then we'd both be wrong.
Didn't sound like anyone got along too well from the beginning.
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“You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!” ― Maya Angelou