If you’re wondering about the details surrounding the case of Jessi Slaughter (real name Jessica Leonhardt), you might find just what you’re looking for in an exclusive interview with Jessi’s mom.
Dianne Leonhardt sat down with popular website MomLogic.com where she provided details of exactly how her 11-year-old daughter sparked anger in an online group which ultimately led to harassment and death threats.
First, watch the video of the foul-mouthed pre-teen:
Now, watch the same foul-mouthed pre-teen after she started receiving threats from the same people she threatened earlier (quite the difference huh):
Now, here are some of the highlights of the interview where Diane Leonhardt defends her daughter:
MomLogic: How did all of this Internet drama start?
Dianne Leonhardt: On Thursday evening, it all started. I got a phone call from a guy [representing] himself as a police officer and inquiring about an alleged missing person — a kid — who knew or was associated with my daughter. I asked for the missing kid’s name and my daughter said she didn’t even know who he was. Something didn’t seem right; the call seemed weird. So I asked the “officer” what the police chief’s name was, and he hung up. The phone rang again, and I told the guy that if he was a real police officer to send a unit to my door. My daughter became more upset because someone had posted a photo of her over the Internet using her head with someone else’s body. My daughter was sitting by the computer, and that’s the video where my husband was screaming for all of this to stop. We shut the computer down and we were very upset.
Diane goes on to say that she had no idea her daughter was making rude videos, even though she was aware she had a computer and a webcam:
“Jessica has a webcam and a computer,” says her mom. “All of her friends have webcams, too, so they video chat with each other. I knew she’d made a video to apply for “America’s Got Talent.” She sings and sent an audition video in. I had no idea she was making other videos. I have seen her chatting with her friends, but not making videos.”
Can someone please explain to me why an 11-year-old would have a webcam? They live in a small community – if the friends want to see each other, they should just visit their homes.
Diane also claims that she has not watched the videos of her daughter. How can she truly comprehend the situation if she hasn’t seen these videos? She needs to watch them in order to provide the appropriate punishment for her daughter.
The most shocking part of the interview is below. It’s clear that the mom is in complete denial but this type of parenting is just ridiculous. Take a look at what Dianne had to say about the police taking custody of Jessica:
MomLogic: Is it true that your daughter was taken into protective police custody?
Dianne Leonhardt: Yes. On Friday afternoon around 2:45 PM, another deputy and a DCF officer showed up at my door. The DCF agent was saying my daughter was making all these videos online. I never saw any videos and I didn’t even want to turn on the computer. I wanted to leave it alone, but they were hammering my daughter. They didn’t talk to her, they were talking at her. They were blaming her, saying, “You did this!” She was denying making the videos. I haven’t watched the videos, and I don’t want my daughter back online. I don’t want to make her all upset again. After all that, DCF took Jess on Friday and put her in protective custody at a center. She came back yesterday. I am so angry about how she was treated. I went to visit her on Saturday, and she just wanted to go home. These kids have to get up at 7:00 AM, have breakfast and do schoolwork. There is no TV for them, and nothing else to do. From 1 to 2 PM, you can have visitors, so I went to see her. If you have no visitors, they tell you to take a nap. I couldn’t return that evening for visitation, so they allowed her to make a five-minute call to me. She said she was bored and just staring at the walls. After three minutes, they rushed her off the phone.
This whole case is messed up but the mom is the most messed of all! Maybe if she took the time to watch the videos, she’d realize just how much of a deliquent her child is.
Long story short: Don’t let your kids on Facebook, don’t let your kids have a webcam and, for God’s sake, keep an eye on what they’re doing behind closed doors.
Read the whole interview at MomLogic.com.
Do you think the parents are at fault here?
