STEFANSKI and CLARK children, - 4, 5, 6, 7 yo - / Convicted: Father Aaron Stefanski and Mother Jessica Clark - Fort Wayne, IN

Obliging mother arrested after allowing drunk boyfriend to drive daughter round town on his car hood

• Jessica Clark gets 6 months in prison
  
• Aaron Stefanski gets 18 months home detention
  
• Stefanski addressing alcohol problems and taking parenting classes, his lawyer says
  
• 'I let alcohol make the decision for me,' Stefanski says
  

By Daily Mail Reporter and Sam Shead

PUBLISHED: 19:45 EST, 3 August 2012 | UPDATED: 11:56 EST, 7 August 2012

An Indiana woman who allowed her 7-year-old daughter to be strapped to the hood of a car her drunk boyfriend was driving has been sentenced to six months in prison.

Jessica Clark, 30, was given the jail term three days after her partner and neighbour Aaron Stefanski, 29, from Fort Wayne, was sentenced to 18 months home detention for driving drunk with his three young children and Clark's daughter tied to the hood of his sedan.

Superior Judge Wendy Davis ordered Clark to serve two and half years in jail on the neglect of a dependent charge, but ordered two years suspended and to be served on probation.

The first six months of her probation will be served on home detention.


In happier times: Aaron Stefanski poses with his three young children, who he strapped to the hood of his car in May in a drunken stupor
Clark was on a suspended prison sentence when she was charged the Ford Wayne Gazette Reported.

Police stopped Stefanski and Clark in May after a liquor store clerk spotted the children strapped to the hood of Stefanski's white sedan.

Stefanski had tied his sons, age 4 and 5, and his daughter, age 6, along with Clark's 7-year-old daughter, to the outside of the car.

Stefanski told police he tied the kids down because he 'thought they would like it,' after his arrest on May 7 for the shocking incident.

But a subdued and seemingly repentant Stefanski told a judge in Fort Wayne, Indiana on Friday he regretted his actions, adding, 'I let alcohol make the decision for me.'

According to police, Stefanski's blood alcohol level at the time was 0.17 percent -- more than twice the legal limit.

The four children were strapped to the roof of this car which was stopped by police on its way from a liquor store in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Luckily none of the children were hurt Stefanski, who pleaded guilty to four class D felonies in July, was sentenced to four years in prison on August 3.


At the time of his arrest, Stefanski had a blood alcohol level of 0.17 percent -- more than twice the legal limit

But the judge overseeing his case suspended two and a half years of his sentence and ordered his remaining time to be served on probation.

His lawyer, David Zent, said the troubled dad is addressing his alcohol problem and taking parenting classes, which he will continue while on home detention.

Stefanski's ex-wife, the mother of his three children, said she was 'livid and in shock' over her ex-husband's antics.

But before sentencing, she told the court despite her ex's horrifying negligence, he had been an excellent father and she believed him to be repentant.

She asked that he be spared prison time, so he could continue to work.

Superior Judge Wendy Davis said she found the case 'incredibly aggravating' and reminded Stefanski of his duty to protect his children.

He has been barred from seeing his three children since the incident.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2183484/Mother-Jessica-Clark-sentenced-allowing-drunk-father-Aaron-Stefanski-strap-children-car-hood-drive-town.html#ixzz22tDsZbRQ

"He has been barred from seeing his three children since the incident. "

He should loose them all together. That could have gone bad.
The kids will still have pych issues.

We need better laws and stiffer punishment for this behaviour.
Kids need protecting.

William

William you are so right. This could have ended in tragedy if he had a wreck, even a minor one, or if he had to slam on brakes. This man and his woman are loons.