Do Maddy McCann's parents need to be held to account legally?
They seem to be masters of the media, completely blameless and remorseless as they hide away in Portugal.
Answers:
I agree. They were negligent and their absense caused the child to go missing.
Had one of them stayed with the young children then they would have been safe.
People give the excuse that they were regularly checking on them by walking back from the restaurant around the corner.
BOLLOCKS!
If your child is that tired that it needs to sleep, you stay there and watch over them. You are the responsable person and its your responsability to make sure they aresafe. You dont go out regardless. Especially in a foreign country.
I have lived in several countries due to me coming from a RAF family. Probably the closest country to Portugal I lived is Sardinia. I was about 3 or 4 and I wasnt allowed to be left in the kithen alone, under any circumstances because there were exposed wires that would have electrocuted me. Foreign safety standards are quite literally shite. I was never left alone, EVER.
You wouldnt have done that in this country, had this happedned here they would have, and should have been charged with some sort of offense. This is pure negligence. Once you are a parent, until their mid to late teens, you have to know where they are and what they are doing.
To cap it all, they are both doctors! I would imagine their careers are over. I would never trust them to treat me. They cant even look after their own children!
I dont know what happened to that little girl, someone could have taken her, her parents might have had something to do with it....who knows, innocent till proven guilty on that one.
However, they were absent when she went missing.They are guilty of negligence and their other children must be considered high risk.
Thats another point, what sort of life will the other children lead with their parents pining away in portugal being pathetic? They have no stability, no love form their parents and they have to grieve about their sister to.
They are selfish, incompetant, stupid, naive, pathetic and weak human beings. They should face a criminal prosecution.
And those that think they are decent people..would you let them look after your children?
i know surely there is a law about negligence. i mean you cant leave your 3 yr old at home on her own.
But on what charge?
you seem to be quite obsessed with the McCanns??
Something is funny about this to me. No decent parent would do what they did. I won't even go work in the yard with my grandson napping. Almost like it was set up.
I know there is a poor, innocent little girl involved in this and for that I am sorry but I am getting sick hearing about the whole McCann affair. To be honest I really don't want to see or hear anything from the parents unless, of course, Maddy is found.
I am still of the opinion that if Maddy had been the child of a single mother, the mother would have been slaughtered by the press for leaving a child alone in a foreign country while she went out to dine.
yes because they left her all alone then some evil sicko took her
Personally, I think that they should. They left 3 small kids alone in a hotel room and one ends up missing. Have that happen in the U.S. and both parents would probably be in the slammer. On the other hand, they are already paying for it dearly with their child still missing. I think that might be the worst punishment possible.
Yes ,,,,,,, they abandoned the children to go and eat,,,,,,, or so they say,,,,,,,, would you leave your children.... we never have
Yes I think they should, although any punishment they get will be nothing compared to what they've been through already.
Ultimately, they've got to live with the fact that they left that poor child alone!
They have been investigated THOUROUGHLY and yet NOTHING has been found to convince the cops that they are to blame. As of right now Madeline is missing and presumed kidnapped. In the future things may change, but there is NO evidence to assume the parents are guilty of her dissapearance. Stupidity for leaving her alone, absolutely, but killing or selling or whatever, not a chance!
And if it were your kid wouldn't you become 'media masters' or at least hire one.
i don't think so..
i think the police in Portugal are doing well on the case..
They need to be charged with neglect at the least and they need to remember they have two more kids who they are keeping away from there home i dont know what they hope to achieve in portugal there is nothing they can do there they can t do in england
It is illegal in England to leave a minor and charges can be brought if something happens to the child. I think though that as it happened in Portugal it would have to be their laws that cover this and i`m not sure what they are but if it had happened in England then the police here would have to bring charges. We would need someone who knows the Portuguese law to clarify. To be honest though, the police in this case have stumbled along in such a disorganised manner that i bet they will be too scared to do this in case of any more criticism.
for what
Not as things stand. Not they or anybody else
Remember people is supposed to be innocent until proved otherwise.
New evidence about the case have just been discovered.
Read the latest news about the case
If they had been in the UK then yes, there would be questions to answer. You CANNOT leave children of that age on their own. But things may be different in Potrugal and as that is where they were, does it make a difference? It shouldn't, but who knows. I don't think the truth will come out until Maddie is found, hopefully safe and well.
First of all my sympathy goes out to the McCanns and thoughts and prayers for Maddies safe return. but somehow in my opinion these would NOT be needed if two highly educated people had either paid for babysitting services provided by the complex or one parent went out and brought back some take-away to eat whilst three young children slept!!
Also, if this is the "norm" for educated parents on holiday in a foreign country, what the heck do they do undiscovered in their own country?
It is negligence on any scale no matter how anyone percieves it. yes they are paying the price as little Maddie - bless her- is still missing. No one is claiming that they had anything whatsoever to do with her disappearance, but they sure as heck did make it easier for someone else to take her by leaving ALL three children alone and vulnerable (asleep) in a strange apartment block and country... even if it was 50 STEPS from the front door... fact is they should NEVER EVER have been left alone albeit there was a group thing going on that everyone would check on each others kids. it only takes one split second-as every parent knows- for tragedy to strike.
I am still hoping and praying for Maddies safe and speedy return to her parents... but can only agree if it were a single parent -as recently reported about a single mother leaving her 13 year old and going off to spain found out on her return, when she was arrested upon her landing back here and charged by police- they should face charges of some degree.
Yes I agree that this case should be highlighted on every TV station and newspaper, keep it in the front of everyones minds, but it will also do no favours to have the most wanted child in the world on your hands, so the question arises. are we helping to find her or helping to hide her??
WHEREVER YOU ARE SWEETHEART, MY BLESSINGS ARE PLENTIFUL AND WITH YOU - GOD SPEED YOU BACK HOME.
Their behavior subsequent to the event is irrelevant.
Here is the legal position.
As Anneio has pointed out, had this happened in the United States, all of the adults with young children would have been arrested on charges of Felony Child Neglect. The law in Portugal and the United Kingdom is not so clear-cut.
If the couple were long-term Portuguese residents, then they would have been subject to Portuguese law, which would mean arrest on child abandonment charges.
However, they were not. They were in Portugal for less than 90 days at the time of their child's disappearance, which makes them subject to the law of their home country. And the UK has the most liberal interpretation of "child neglect" of any country where I know the law.
Basically, in UK law, neglect means knowingly leaving your children in a dangerous situation, or depriving them of food, water, shelter, warmth and basic sanitation. If the McCanns had not fed or bathed their children, or made them sleep outside, exposed to the elements; if the children were malnourished or dehydrated, suffering from sunburn or frostbite or illness due to poor sanitation, then it would be clear-cut. But they did not do this. The children were healthy, well-fed, happy, not physically abused. If the McCanns had left the children alone in the apartment all night while they went clubbing until 2 or 3am, or all day while they visited Fatima or went shopping or to play 9 rounds, then there might be a case. But they didn't do that, either.
To put it briefly, if the NSPCC cannot answer the question, then how possibly can the Portuguese authorities?
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