A mother in Australia has been sentenced to time in jail after she poured kerosene over herself and her 7-year-old son before setting her kitchen on fire.
A dad in Missouri is facing assault charges after he allegedly told his 6-year-old daughter to hit another student on the school bus.
The man, who has been identified as Maurice Fox, was charged by St. Louis County prosecutors with first degree harassment, trespass of a bus and two counts of fourth-degree assault after an incident that involved a young student, according to court documents viewed by People.
The incident took place on October 9 around 9 a.m. when Fox, 36, allegedly got on the school bus with his elementary school aged daughter. After the bus driver told him to get off, Fox pushed the driver’s arm away and continued to make his way down the bus aisle.
Police footage obtained by local outlets KMOV and KSDK captured Fox telling his daughter, “Do what I told you to do.” He was then seen telling the other child, “Hey, don’t put your hands on my daughter no more… ‘cause if I find out you’re touching her again, your parents will have to talk to me.”
“What do you do?” he asked his daughter, who was then seen throwing a punch at the other student several times as Fox watched. He urged his daughter to hit the other child “again,” and she continued to punch the other student in the face.
"I want her crying. Again,” Fox was heard saying as his daughter continued punching the student. “Let’s go.”
The video concluded by showing the student who was attacked shaking her head multiple times.
"This incident is disturbing and completely unacceptable,” Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle told Fox2Now in a statement. “We have made several attempts to contact the parent, but he has avoided all efforts to speak with our detectives.”
“However, he has found the time to create a GoFundMe account seeking donations for his legal defense,” Doyle continued of Fox. “You cannot crowdsource accountability. We urge him to contact the Ferguson Police Department immediately or come in and speak with our investigators to give his account of the incident.”
Fox has prior convictions for armed robbery, aggravated battery and unlawful firearm possession, according to court documents. A search warrant has been issued for his arrest, as well as a $100,000 bond, per People.
The Ferguson-Florissant School District also issued a statement on the matter, telling KMOV they were “aware of an incident involving a parent boarding a school bus without permission” and were “fully cooperating with law enforcement as they address this matter.”
“Student and staff safety is always our top priority, and we will not tolerate anything that compromises their safety,” the district continued. “School buses are an extension of the school campus. Trespassing on a school bus and engaging in the behavior described in this incident are completely unacceptable.”
