In September 2013, Ronald Jackson confiscated his then-12-year-old daughter’s phone after discovering a text he considered nasty and improper. However, the child’s mother, Michelle Steppe, objected to his actions and phoned the police.
Steppe and Jackson haven’t been together in years, and Steppe is now married to a police officer in Grand Prairie, Texas. When the cops arrived at Jackson’s house later that day and demanded the iPhone 4, he refused.rejected. He concluded that the cops were not interfering with his capacity to parent his kid.
Steppe, on the other hand, argued that the phone belonged to her, and three months after refusing to return it, Jackson received a citation in the mail for property theft. He was given a plea bargain in exchange for returning the phone. Instead, Jackson retained counsel and asked for a jury trial.
The case was transferred to Dallas County, and a warrant was issued for Jackson’s arrest, unknown to him. Around 2 a.m. police arrived at Jackson’s door, detained him, and took him to prison.
Jackson explained that it made no sense to him for them to show up and make a huge deal out of something insignificant. He was unable to accept they’d go to such lengths for a smartphone. It just didn’t seem right. After a night in jail, he secured a $1,500 bond and was freed.
One of Jackson’s defence attorneys, John Cook,explained he has never seen anything like it. It’s as if we were on the Jerry Springer Show. Following a two-day hearing in which Jackson’s daughter, now 15, testified, Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Lisa Green found Jackson not guilty, finding insufficient evidence to support a theft allegation. Steppe is dissatisfied with the decision. “Even if you pay with your own money and have a receipt, it’s not yours,” she explained. “Someone might take it away from you.”
Despite the fact that Jackson won the court and is permitted to keep the phone, he stated that the experience has caused him to distance himself from Steppe and his daughter. He stated he’ll never be able to have a relationship with them again.
The majority of commentators have backed Jackson’s disciplinary action. “Good work, dad,” one individual said. Inappropriate text messages are unquestionably a justification to throw away the phone.”
Another bemoaned the long-term ramifications: “The poor youngster just lost her bond with her father since her mother was being petty.”
Another commenter wishes both parents had responded differently, writing, “In my opinion, both of them have growing up to do,” and implying that Jackson’s punishment only applied to his household, not the mother’s. “There’s a reason it’s called co-parenting, people!”
