Angry Texas Mom Gets Prison for Tearing Son's Genitals

I typically try to avoid stories like this in the media, because they seem to be too common and too disturbing to even comprehend, but this one struck a nerve with me today and got my blood boiling when I began to think about this poor little boy and what he went through.

In San Antonio, TX, a 34 year old women was just sentenced to 2 years in jail for tearing her 6 year old sons genitals, during an angry rampage, and then trying to glue the tear shut.. The poor little boy was terrified, injured, and likely confused (as expected) and when the father returned home he found the kid alone in his bedroom crying, which is when he discovered the wound.

The thought of this kid alone, scared, injured, just infuriates me..... Some people SHOULD NEVER be parents, this is just one example and I don't care how angry she was, there is no excuse for acting like that on your child...

Now, my anger comes from 2 places here.... First, how is this lady only getting a 2 year sentence for this heinous act? Second, this just adds to our horrible justice system here in this country where a man was sentenced to 99 years in jail for marijuana brownies or another story of a man who was sentenced to life for dealing a little acid. Now, am I to believe that marijuana brownies or acid is worse then tearing the genitals of a 6 year old boy??? The justice system needs to get with the times and they need to learn how to punish the REAL criminals, ie, this lady, and not those who are smoking a plant.... I know this story went from the sick San Antonio women to this, but I needed some examples to show how insanely stupid our court system is in this country...

I'm curious if others on ATS believe the punishment fits the crime here?

Here is the story of the lady from TX....

A San Antonio woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for tearing her 6-year-old son's genitals during a rage and then trying to repair the wound using glue.
The sentence imposed Thursday for 34-year-old Jennifer Vargas includes five years of supervised release. She had pleaded guilty earlier to an assault charge.

An FBI complaint shows Vargas was arrested Sept. 27 at the family's home at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. It's not clear why Vargas became so angry that she grabbed the boy's genitals.
The father came home later to find his son crying in his room, discovered the wound and took him to a military hospital. The child required surgery.

NBC

If its really as it reads then she'll probably get whats due when in the prison, but there's not much to be gleaned from the linked report. What IF the kid was being a little bra and she just reached out and grabbed whatever part of his clothing she could reach and accidentally caught his bits by mistake?

The gluing was just stupid, someone should open her head an look inside to see if there's a brain in there. But even that reaction (wrong I know) could be because like so many parents these days she was frightened of the authorities.

I can't believe the out of scale punishments for certain unlucky people, and some "lucky" ones like this.

One that baffled me recently was the woman whose bad judgement in saving ducklings from a highway led to the deaths of two motorcyclists. She was sentenced to 9months, if I remember right, yet her heart was in the right place and she is no threat to society. Had she killed them in cold blood her sentence wouldn't have been much longer in some places and depending on the judge. I wish there was some standardization, if it were possible.

originally posted by: VoidHawk
If its really as it reads then she'll probably get whats due when in the prison, but there's not much to be gleaned from the linked report. What IF the kid was being a little bra and she just reached out and grabbed whatever part of his clothing she could reach and accidentally caught his bits by mistake?

The gluing was just stupid, someone should open her head an look inside to see if there's a brain in there. But even that reaction (wrong I know) could be because like so many parents these days she was frightened of the authorities.

The kid was only 6 years old, he could have been throwing the temper tantrums for all temper tantrums and still putting your hands on your child will never be okay in my book, especially at such an extreme level like this. It's not like we are talking about a little spanking or something, but to physically tear the boys genitals and then instead of taking an already horrible mistake and making it worse by adding glue to the mix. I really question the judge who handed out the 2 year sentence, I would love to ask him/her if they forgot to add a 0 to that sentence...

a reply to: igloo

I agree, it's turning into a very common thing here in this country where we see real criminals getting off with minimal sentences, while others who aren't predators to the world are being sentenced to VERY LENGTHY sentences... It just feels/seems like our court system has some things right, but in other areas they are assbackwards..

originally posted by: jhn7537


The kid was only 6 years old, he could have been throwing the temper tantrums for all temper tantrums and still putting your hands on your child will never be okay in my book

Agreed, but what if that temper tantrum was being acted out on a table where he was about to fall, would it be ok to grab him then? I know this is unlikely, but there's not enough in the report to rule it out, and we all know how the press like to wind up its readers!
I'm just saying we ought to wait until we have more details before we hang her.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Well, if she was just sentenced to 2 years in prison I believe all the details were collected. If the scenario you describe was true, I'm sure she wouldn't be heading to prison right now. But if she was trying to save the kid from being hurt and hurt him while doing so then that's a different story, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

originally posted by: jhn7537
a reply to: VoidHawk

Well, if she was just sentenced to 2 years in prison I believe all the details were collected. If the scenario you describe was true, I'm sure she wouldn't be heading to prison right now. But if she was trying to save the kid from being hurt and hurt him while doing so then that's a different story, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

Your probably right, but as someone mentioned above "Man gets 99 years for smoking a plant" so just because the law locks a person away; its not proof the person was a bad person.

I just think we ought to wait until we have the details, the msm is very good at getting us all worked up. If its as it reads then fine, she deserves whats coming, but at the moment all we have is a story from the msm.

a reply to: VoidHawk

Well, if I'm able to find more information I will share it with this thread. And I do agree that the MSM typically enjoys sensationalizing stories, but I'm not sure if that is the case here. And if the story is as it reads I feel the sentence does not fit the crime and she should be in jail much longer than 2 short years, especially figuring that she's damaged this little boy for good now, both physically and emotionally... I just hate reading/watching the news nowadays, little to no positive stories, and just a bunch of sad, disturbing stories like this...

Is this the new norm? Granted, I'm only 29 years old, but I don't remember news being like this back in the day, but in the 80's/90's I was much younger and not monitoring news sites then like I do now.

originally posted by: jhn7537
a reply to: VoidHawk

Well, if I'm able to find more information I will share it with this thread. And I do agree that the MSM typically enjoys sensationalizing stories, but I'm not sure if that is the case here. And if the story is as it reads I feel the sentence does not fit the crime and she should be in jail much longer than 2 short years, especially figuring that she's damaged this little boy for good now, both physically and emotionally... I just hate reading/watching the news nowadays, little to no positive stories, and just a bunch of sad, disturbing stories like this...

Is this the new norm? Granted, I'm only 29 years old, but I don't remember news being like this back in the day, but in the 80's/90's I was much younger and not monitoring news sites then like I do now.

I agree, people who deliberately harm children are the scum of the earth in my book. If she's guilty as presented then I'm sure justice awaits her in the prison because many of those people in prison are mothers who'd like nothing better than to be at home with their kids, so I'm sure they'll take their ~frustrations out on her.

Since seeing as how a couple of folks just got a year in jail for "baconizing" a mosque... you would think that "trying" to rip your son's testicles off THEN super gluing them back would warrant a little more than a year more than those folks got. If a man had done this to his son, he would have gotten more than two years. I think a mother (the ONE person in the entire world that should die to protect you) should get plenty more than 2. Plenty.

I am going to go with... It's worth more than two years, Alex.

JMO.

I got a little oozie feeling when I read this.

a reply to: jhn7537
My ex-husband did something not dissimilar to this, and was not even arrested. Hence, why he is my ex-husband.

My son, at the time, was three, almost four years old. He was sitting on the potty, and talking to himself and playing with his toes, whilst he did his business. He was supposed to be doing his 'business', which came up during nap time. My husband, at the time, was watching the children while I was in the office at the other end of the house, working. He had put them down for a nap, and was taking a nap, himself.

He heard my son in the bathroom, talking to himself, for what seemed like an 'inappropriate' amount of time. He became angry, enraged was more like it. He leapt from the bed, burst into the bathroom, ripped my son from the toilet seat, pulled up his undies, and tossed him onto his bed, and slammed the door.

Hearing the commotion, I came out of the office to see him storming back to the bedroom, ranting about my son 'wasting time' and only doing this to get out of taking his nap. I stood there, bewildered as to what took place, trying to piece it all together. My sons' screams grabbed my attention immediately. They were not the screams of a child who had just been reprimanded and put back to bed, but screams of pain. A mom can tell the difference.

I went to his room and opened the door. He was sitting on the bed, in daddy's oversized t-shirt. They loved wearing his old t-shirts for nighties. He was screaming, and looking up at me through a tear streaked face. These were not crocodile tears. I went to him, and sat on the bed. He was trembling, holding his arms up about mid-chest. I asked what was wrong, and he pointed down. I lifted his shirt, and his little undies were blood soaked. I told him to stand up and let mommie see, and when he did, I examined him, and his penis was degloved. The skin was barely attached, but it was ripped clean from nearly all around the base, and folded inside out. I gasped, re-placed the skin where it belonged, and went to grab a washcloth.

On my way to the bathroom, my ex was in the hallway, and began arguing that he had been 'playing in the bathroom so he didn't have to take a nap". I simply told him, shaking with fear and anger, "You are in a lot of trouble. You are going to jail."

I went back to my sons' room, and placed the clean folded washcloth over his wound, and told him we needed to go the the doctor to get it fixed. My son just nodded, still weeping.

My ex then came into my sons' room, asking what was wrong, and I told him he was injured, and that he had to take me to the hospital with my son. He refused. I could not drive a straight shift, which was all we had, so I telephoned a friend, who took us to the hospital.

At the hospital, I explained what had happened, and the police tried to arrest my friend that brought us! I said no, that's NOT my husband! He stayed home and refused to help me!

The emergency room called in a plastic surgeon, who thankfully did a wonderful job putting everything back together. We went home later, with some pain medication.

I don't know to this day what transpired between my ex and the police. However, when I got home, I gave him 14 days to get his belongings packed, and to leave. I told him that I, as an adult, could decide what I would and would not put up with from him, but laying a hand on my children was over the top. I chose my children, and their safety, over him.

To this day, some 26 years later, he still denies this ever happened. He lied to his family, friends, everyone he knew. To this day, I am still married to the friend that took me and my son to the emergency room that day. He turned out to be a far better husband, friend, and father than their own flesh and blood.

My ex disowned my son, because he wrote him a letter a few years ago, begging him to own up to what he did, and to simply apologize.

My son was always mentally injured by the actions, more deeply than the physical injury, itself. He felt, and still does, that his own father didn't love him. He truly loves his stepdad so much, that he even talks at times, about legally changing his name. He even jokes that they look alike, and that my current husband is secretly his real father. (This isn't even possible, though, as he is younger than me, and would have been 13 when my son was born, but it's a private family joke. Well, not now, I guess.)

Anyway, I don't know what he said, or told the police, but he got out of any prosecution for what he did, and in the end, did a lot of emotional and psychological damage to my son. Instead, he lives a very good life, a highly paid computer exec, making a tripple figure amount salary.

While my children were in public school, and I struggled as a single mother, my kids were on reduced fee lunches for a time. I made 800.00 a month in support. I was running low, actually broke, one week before he was due to pay support, and asked him for 5.00, which he steadfastly refused me.

Some people belong in prison.


ETA - I forgot the part about when he asked me why he had to go to the hospital. When I explained why, he replied, "Just pour some alcohol on it and cover it with some gauze. I yelled, "Are you f'n crazy?!" as I stormed out of the room to phone for help.

a reply to: jhn7537
Turns out she had been previously arrested for assualting her ex-husband, too. Perhaps the childs' father, and the cause if his injury was misplaced rage? Still looking for more information.


m.mysanantonio.com...

Nope. Another man's baby:

The couple later separated, he remarried, and
she later had her son with another man, records show.

m.huffpost.com...

with assault causing serious bodily injury after
investigators said she grabbed the boy by his private parts and pulled
with enough force to open a 4-centimeter laceration on his
scrotum.

Just as an FYI, my son had 21 sutures, both internally and externally, and I was warned he may have multiple issues as he grew up and matured. Thankfully, he did not.

A 4cm tear sounds more like something done by fingernails, which, by the sounds of all the articles is likely, as they state, "she yanked" his genitals.

My sons' injury occurred when he was "yanked" off the toilet seat, his penis got caught under the edge of the seat as he was pulled forward.

a reply to: Libertygal

Brutal and sad story, Libertygal...you should be very proud to have done the right thing. I'm glad it had a happy ending.

originally posted by: igloo
a reply to: Libertygal

Brutal and sad story, Libertygal...you should be very proud to have done the right thing. I'm glad it had a happy ending.

We all are, too. Sadly, my son will never repair the feelings damaged by his real father. His stepfather has never betrayed him nor let him down, and never will.

We can only hope as much for the poor tot in the story. He will need all the love he can get from all of those still in his life.

Sadly, things like this destroy families, as it did mine. At least his family knows the truth, and one whole side of his family will not call him a liar his entire life.

Funny thing though. I never spoke badly about my ex to my kids. I didn't have to. In fact, I tried the opposite, to convince them he loved them. He had visitation every other week, but as soon as each of my kids turned 13, they refused to see him any longer. By state law here, that was allowed.

He did all the damage to their relationships himself. Never had to say a bad word. In the end, they saw the light.

You can thank the "War on Drugs" for 99 year sentence. As for the mom, two years is not enough for such a callous act. Poor kid, I hope he can move past it. She looks older than 34 year old, with all that grey hair. I am almost 40 and still have blonde hair. I have no grey whatsoever. lol

I'd would agree that this could have been an accident during a bout of rage. Of course hospitals use a super glue type adhesive to close small wounds, unless it was a large tear with stuff hanging out, in which case surgery would be required.

Obviously she didn't want to be charged with abuse so she treated the wound as best she could I would think. Bottom line is, regardless of the type of wound, she must have beat the kid bloody during a rage which is abuse, not corporal punishment.

A two year vacation to the big house seems just in my opinion if the wound was small and the trauma exaggerated by the emotion of the incident.

ETA: Just read that it was a 4cm tear, that is pretty big (1.5 inches), and she grabbed his junk when it happened. Maybe two years isn't enough.

a reply to: Libertygal

Hi Libertygal, thank you for sharing this story with us and I'm sorry both you and your son had to go through that. Hopefully, this event in time doesn't effect him too much from having a normal life. I will never understand why any adult would ever hit/hurt a child. Children look up to us adults for guidance, love, affection, help, and when they are abused or hurt that confuses and distorts their young minds. Thanks again for sharing.