Video of teased toddler sparks outrage, investigation

[harrisonsdream]

Video of teased toddler sparks outrage, investigation
Clues point to Houston in footage of girl said to have ingested Ecstasy


By MELANIE MARKLEY
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


An online video that shows teens teasing a toddler for using the drug Ecstasy while sitting on the floorboard of a moving vehicle is being investigated by local authorities hoping to find out who is responsible.

In the video, which originally appeared on YouTube before it was removed, a second child, an infant, also is seen being handed from one person to another in the back seat of the car.

Various clues in the video — a map and a Houston radio station broadcast — have gotten the sheriffs' departments in Harris and Jackson counties involved in the investigation. FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said her agency also is looking into the matter.


Passenger denies claim
An e-mail purportedly written by the camera operator says the girl wasn't given any drugs. The e-mail doesn't include the author's real name.

Still, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. John Martin said he is disturbed by what he sees in the two-minute and 28-second video.

A child who appears to be about 2 is sitting on the back-seat floor of the car and rolling her eyes back until only the whites are showing. A young woman in the car taps and squeezes the little girl's cheeks, telling her to stop rolling her eyes.

"Cookie, stop rolling, girl," she said. "You shouldn't have popped no x."

Most of the young women appear to be teens. But at least one adult is believed to be in the car.

While the toddler rolls her eyes, the women continue to laugh and poke fun at the girl, frequently using expletives.

Martin said it's unclear if the child is actually on Ecstasy, a dangerous stimulant and hallucinogenic. But he said there definitely appears to be something wrong with the toddler. Also, he said, it's obvious that neither of the children in the car are in child safety seats.

"These people are endangering these children for their own amusement," said Martin.


CPS is concerned
Harris County authorities are investigating the video because an announcer on the car radio is heard giving the call letters KHCB FM, which is a Christian station in Houston. An instrumental version of Jesus Loves Me is playing in the background.

The Jackson County Sheriff's Office also is investigating because a Jackson County map can be seen protruding from a pocket on the back of the car's front seat. Bonnie BeMent, assistant general manager of the KHCB network, said her 100,000-watt station reaches into portions of Jackson County.

Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said her agency stands ready to launch its own investigation. She said CPS is very concerned about the welfare of the children.

"It's going to be a wait-and-see game until we find them," she said.

Although the video was removed from YouTube, it has reappeared on a variety of Web sites, including Parents Behaving Badly and Digg. The video has drawn international outrage.

Several of the people making comments said they had contacted authorities and demanded an investigation.

One of the young women on the video, a 17-year-old known as Cool Bean'sz, has a MySpace account, Olguin said. She said the girl's profile originally indicated she was from southwest Houston. But as the controversy grew, she revised it to say she was from South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

On one of the message boards, an e-mail apparently written by Cool Bean'sz said the whole thing was a joke. Her friend's niece kept rolling her eyes as if she were on Ecstasy, she said, and so they decided to record her.

She said she put the video on YouTube so she could link it to her MySpace page.

"Then like a week later," she said, "all these little no life retardts (sic) R sending me messages talking (expletive)."

Olguin said her agency wants to find out for itself whether the video was a joke.

[SnowCrystal]

OMG, you have got to be kidding.

[goldilockz]

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot anyone can do unless someone who recognizes the toddler comes foward. And even then, they will have to be ready to explain who they think it is doing that. No one is going to admit to it

[Kat]

Wow.
I pray that there was no drugs really involved.

[goldilockz]

Originally Posted by Kat Wow. I pray that there was no drugs really involved.

If/when you see the video on the news, she is clearly on SOMETHING. Her little eyes are rolled back and she's laughing and all while someone waves an ipod in front of her face. She is way messed up. You can also tell by the way she's moving her tongue around like her mouth is really dry. It's horrible to watch.

[Kat]

Originally Posted by goldilockz If/when you see the video on the news, she is clearly on SOMETHING. Her little eyes are rolled back and she's laughing and all while someone waves an ipod in front of her face. She is way messed up. You can also tell by the way she's moving her tongue around like her mouth is really dry. It's horrible to watch.

Holy crap. That is really sick.

[queentreev1004]

Yeah I just saw that video on the news!!! That is just ... I'm speechless...

[cheerkelly]

OMG! There are really some sick people out there, aren't there?! I can't imagine anyone giving a child something like that and then laughing about it! I haven't seen it on the news yet, but from your descriptions, I'm gonna gag when I finally see it!

[Veronica]

I cant believe someone gave a toddler ecstacy.

[HEIDI]

It was sad to watch.....