Couple arrested for kissing babys belly

[Trigg]

The ordeal is finally over, but for the past year, a North Carolina family has been torn apart after state officials claimed family photos of a father kissing his baby's belly button were some kind of child abuse.

It began when Teresa Hamaty took impromptu party snapshots of her husband, Charbel, playfully embracing their naked, newborn son, Kristoff.

After dropping the film off at an Eckerd store in North Raleigh, authorities were notified.

"You see the back of the baby, and like if someone is kissing the baby's belly button," Teresa told WRAL-TV.

But police saw the worst and arrested Teresa for taking sexually explicit photos, charged her husband with felony sexual assault, and put Kristoff and his half-sister in protective custody.

"It was a nightmare," Charbel said, after spending half a year in jail.

Teresa took months fighting to gain back custody of her children.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45477


Ok all you parents and grandparents no more giving "goobers" on kids bellys anymore for fear of being put in jail!!!! Where was that thread on common sense again???

 

[Nienna]

Good Heavens! You should see some of the "nudie" shots I had of my kids! (Especially the boys! Why does it look so much BIGGER on the photo?) This is insanity!

 

[fuzzykitten99]

my son had photos being snapped just minutes after he was born...cleaning up, the cord cutting, etc. i was knocked out completely for my c-section because of massive panic attacks, so i didn't get to see him until he was about an hour old. the photos of him only a few minutes old helped me feel better about the whole thing.

i don't know a loving parent who hasn't kissed their baby's cute little belly at least a million times. i still blow raspberries on my son's tummy.

this is getting ridiculous.

 

[Mr. P]

Invest in a Digital camera folks, this is not the first time I've heard of a minimum wage photo shop employee having someone arrested.

 

[no1tovote4]

A XRBRF nets a guy 6 months in jail? Dayum!

 

[GotZoom]

I thought this was a little ridiculous too until I read some of the past reports of this case.

From August 12, 2004:

Headline: Warrants Offer Details About Raleigh Couple's Arrest

Link: http://www.wral.com/news/3644550/detail.html

"According to the arrest warrant, Teresa took a picture of her husband in a sexual pose with their 4-month-old son and another photo with their 6-year-old daughter in that same pose with their 4-month-old son."

A later report from August 31, 2004:

Headline: Friends Support Man Accused Of Sexually Abusing Children

Link: http://www.wral.com/news/3696808/detail.html

"Police say family photos dropped off at a local drug store for developing show Charbel Hamaty and the 6-year-old kissing the genitals of his first-born son."

I am guessing it is Lebanese tradition for everyone (including the other children) to kiss the genitals of the first-born son?

I can see how the clerk freaked out about this. If in fact this is tradition, the authorities should have done a little more research before locking him away for 6 months.

 

[-Cp]

Here's the rest of the story....

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1599467p-7803649c.html

RALEIGH -- A Lebanese immigrant facing sexual assault charges involving his infant son is caught in the middle of a culture clash between Western law and Eastern tradition. The Wake County courts will have to settle the question: Is the 24-year-old North Raleigh man a sex offender or an affectionate father?
Raleigh police have accused Charbel "Charlie" Hamaty, 24, of 5835-A Pointer Drive of first-degree sexual offense based on photographs of himself and his 6-year-old daughter kissing his 2-month-old son's groin area.

An Eckerd Drug employee contacted police after two of the photographs were developed there, and a search of Hamaty's home turned up a handful more. If convicted of the most serious offense, Hamaty faces life in prison. His daughter and son have been removed from the home and taken into the custody of a local social service agency.

The depiction of Hamaty as a criminal is disputed by both his lawyers and the more than 100 supporters who crammed a Wake courtroom twice this week for hearings related to the charges against Hamaty and his wife, Teresa.

The supporters, mainly from the local Lebanese community, wore red ribbons that said "Support the Hamatys." They said the charges are the result of a misinterpretation of a half-dozen photographs among more than 100 snapshots.

"We understand why the police did this, but there are innocent explanations for all of this," said Raleigh lawyer Daniel Boyce.

Boyce has received offers of support from the World Lebanese Cultural Union, the Lebanese embassy and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, based in Washington. "We're afraid there might be some cultural misunderstanding," said Kareem Shora, the committee's director of legal policy.

Such kisses are signs of affection, not sexual abuse, ruled the Maine Supreme Court in 1996 when it overturned a sexual assault conviction of an Afghan immigrant who was similarly photographed with his 18-month-old son. The court ruled that the father kissing his son's penis was a common cultural practice and not a sexual act.

"Kissing a young son on every part of his body is considered a sign only of love and affection for the child," the court said in its ruling. "There is nothing sexual about this practice."

"It shouldn't be looked at as a crime," said Ludwig Adamec, a professor emeritus of Middle East history at the University of Arizona's Center for Near Eastern Studies, who testified as an expert in the Maine case.

Hamaty, who works delivering pizza and three other jobs to support his family, is charged with first-degree forcible sex offense and two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. His 34-year-old wife, who works as a nurse, is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

That the Hamatys took the photos to the drug store proves their innocence to the Rev. Claude Franklin of the St. Sharbel Maronite Mission, where the Hamatys' relatives attend church.

"If you're going to do something illegal, you would use a digital camera and put them on the Internet," Franklin said. "If you were doing something criminal, you wouldn't take the photos to Eckerd Drug."

On Thursday during a bond hearing, Boyce said the photos have been taken out of context. Plus, Boyce said, police found no child pornography in the couple's home and no Internet access. In support of reducing Hamaty's $500,000 bail, Boyce argued that Hamaty's release would pose no risk to the community, his children, the witnesses or evidence.

However, Assistant Wake District Attorney Jacquie Brewer argued that federal immigration officials have sought to detain Hamaty for potential deportation because his work visa has expired and he has failed to register with federal authorities as post-Sept. 11, 2001, laws require.

Boyce said Hamaty had hired an immigration lawyer more than a year ago to resolve a dispute with federal officials since he believes his status has changed by marrying his wife, who is a U.S. citizen.

Wake District Court Judge Paul Gessner agreed to reduce the bail to $250,000 and allow electronic house arrest with a number of conditions. While out on bond, Hamaty cannot be alone with any children under the age of 16, must surrender all photographic and video equipment and can have no contact with his children or the witnesses.

Gessner also ordered Hamaty to cooperate with social workers in their investigation of the incidents. As of Friday, Hamaty was still being held at the Wake County Detention Center.

 

[Abbey Normal]

There was a story on TV a couple of years ago about an American man of Greek heritage whose daughter was taken from his home also. In his case, someone saw him pat his daughter in the crotch area at a basketball game. He too claimed it was a cultural sign of affection and meant nothing sexual. Listening to him talk about it, I believed him. He went through hell and was heartbroken.

 

[archangel]

ACLU is nowhere to be found...which proves the point that this person is innocent...if he were a true pervert the ACLU would be knocking down his door...Also notice he was not Muslim...another hint the ACLU is missing!