MMO couple plead guilty to child neglect

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 16th 2007 at 1:28PM }

A Reno, Nev couple who were apparently obsessed with the internets and video games have plead guilty to child neglect. The couple, Michael and Iana Straw, have a 22 month boy and and 11 month girl who were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors examined them at a hospital. The couple, according to prosecutors, were so obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons Online they neglected their children. Guess it's true what they say about bad games and addiction. The couple faces a potential 12 year prison sentence each.

"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," said the prosecutor to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Now would be a good time to stop reading if you don't want the bad details. Police say hospital staff had to shave the girls head because it was matted with cat urine and the boy had to be treated for a "genital infection." Apparently Michael Straw, an unemployed cashier, received a $50,000 inheritance, which he spent on computer equipment and a plasma TV. Allegedly the couple was simply addicted to video games and there was no drug abuse. Maybe it's time the AMA got cracking on trying to figure out what the real deal is with video game addiction.

Tags: addiction, ama, child abuse, culture, parental neglect, video game addiction

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Konny @ Jul 16th 2007 1:34PM

There are (unfortunately) 10,000x as many cases where the cause of the neglect is alcohol or drugs.. but, this one makes national headline news.

spoo @ Jul 16th 2007 2:24PM

Alcohol, drugs or games shouldn't matter when it comes to child abuse.

I hope these parents rot in jail for the rest of their lives.

Martin @ Jul 16th 2007 2:44PM

Does it matter *why* it makes headline news? Whatever the underpinnings of the problem, they need to be addressed.

Aberu @ Jul 16th 2007 7:22PM

Difference is, everyone knows about alcohol and drugs causing those issues. It's not insensitive to post this as big news and put it in all the headlines. It's a good thing since it may help people reevaluate their lifestyle, like alcohol and drugs stories did in the 80's and 90's.

Tim Harding @ Jul 16th 2007 1:36PM

Videogames aren't an addiction, there's nothing about them that makes your body dependent upon them. This is just another sad case of disgusting human beings that happen to have children and are called 'parents'. Unfortunately there was no parenting going on. Luckily the kids didn't die and hopefully they will find a new home with parents that actually love them. It reminds me of people who lock their kids in the car for hours only to find them dead from the extreme heat. Sad.

theJmtz @ Jul 16th 2007 1:41PM

Not a physical addiction no, but not all addictions are. There are two parts to addiction, physical(like drugs, alcohol etc do) and mental, which can be many other things. Doctors have long recognized gambling addiction, which would pretty much be the same as video game addiction. I agree that these "parents" are terrible and certainly deserve at least what they're getting. I feel terrible for the kids.

dpad @ Jul 16th 2007 1:45PM

Don't be ignorant.

Addictions aren't limited to physical dependency. Video game addiction is in the same vein as other obsessive disorders - work addiction, sex addiction ect...

Tim Harding @ Jul 16th 2007 1:57PM

I'm no more ignorant than the 'experts' that debate what an addiction is. From wikipedia: "Not all doctors agree on what addiction or dependency is, because traditionally, addiction has been defined as being possible only to a psychoactive substance (for example alcohol, tobacco and other drugs) which ingested cross the blood-brain barrier, altering the natural chemical behavior of the brain temporarily. Many people, both psychology professionals and laypersons, now feel that there should be accommodation made to include psychological dependency on such things as gambling, food, sex, pornography, computers, work, exercise, cutting, and shopping / spending. However, these are things or tasks which, when used or performed, cannot cross the blood-brain barrier[citation needed] and hence, do not fit into the traditional view of addiction."

Also, the AMA recently decided not to classify videogames as an addiction just yet: http://www.gamewad.com/ama-rethinks-videogame-addiction-classification-4026-p.html

And this is funny: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20050608/133216.shtml

dpad @ Jul 16th 2007 3:19PM

@ Tim Harding

Touche.

Anticrawl @ Jul 16th 2007 5:02PM

Oh don't lump sex addiction into that group. It is an actual chemical dependency. You get a sort of euphoric high after sex. The chemicals your body releases after sex can produce similar if not more powerful effects than some recreational drugs.

Joe P @ Jul 16th 2007 1:40PM

Next on News At 11: The Evils of Video games, how one couple were so hopelessly addicted to video games they left their children to starve

Next on News in the morning: Do video gamers make bad parents? A survey of over 1 person finds that all video gamers are neglectful parents

Next on Primetime News: Why anyone who has touched a video game should be locked up immediately and never be allowed to have kids

Watch all of these come true.

EvoAnubis @ Jul 16th 2007 2:49PM

Holy Shit!!! I know Mike and Iana! Haven't spoken to either of them for over a year, but we used to be tight. Goddamn, I knew they were into videogames (and Mike really like to drink), but . . . this doesn't even sound like them. I remember how excited they both were the 1st time Iana got pregnant . . . they weren't sure they could for awhile. I still remember the first time I met them . . . we had a BBQ in a park, then went back to their house and watched Night of 1000 Corpses.

I feel so bad about this. I have to try to reconnect with them.

Hirsbrunner @ Jul 16th 2007 1:45PM

Sorry excuse for "parents". I don't give a crap if it's video games, drugs, etc. They are the poster-adults representing those that should not breed and should be surgically altered to make sure they don't.

Grant @ Jul 16th 2007 2:55PM

i agree, some people are just wastes of life and should never have children. Period.
Sadly in America we have no predetermination to qualify you to have kids, all you need to be able to do is stick the "cylinder" in the cylinder shaped hole.

sadly most of the people that don't even want kids are too stupid to walk down to their local walmart and spend $3 on a 12 pack of condoms.

The bottom line is that these people never should have been put in charge of childrens lives, be it their own or anyone elses. If it wasn't video games distracting them, it would have been something else. Luckily this was caught before the children suffered a worse fate.

_skitzo_ @ Jul 16th 2007 1:45PM

This is sick, they should be treated in jail the same way they treated there children. This is uncalled for, I don't care how move you love a video game..no excuse to danger an innocent life!

mcondon3 @ Jul 16th 2007 1:46PM

The advertisement on the article's page was for Brain Age.

Tony @ Jul 16th 2007 1:48PM

The thing that bothers me is that the games are used as a scapegoat in these cases. If someone has a food addiction, you don't just blame the food, you blame whatever is actually causing the person to do it. Maybe it's mental, maybe it's physical.

Honestly, if they were going to do this over video games, I'm willing to bet if there were no games available they'd have found something else to be addicted to.

whosmav @ Jul 16th 2007 1:48PM

W....T....F

Hey ya can't help crazy!

This is surely an isolated case...i hope.

Farseer @ Jul 16th 2007 1:49PM

I ran across this article in the AP earlier today. It really is insulting to claim that video games were the problem.

These types of people will exhibit this type of behavior, regardless of the object of their infatuation. Like Konny said, this happens over and over again because of alcohol or drugs, but it could happen just as easily because of cable TV. Or an internet chat room.

The fact of the matter is that these individuals have no concept of personal responsibility. I bet it is unbearable to be in their house. If cat urine was in the little girl's hair, that means it is on every surface of the house, and I guarantee that dishes with rotten food are piled up in the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. Do we even want to venture to imagine what their bathrooms look like?

Of course, none of this is their fault. In this culture, it's always easiest to blame something else. Luck us - video games are currently the popular scapegoat.

Car2oon @ Jul 16th 2007 1:49PM

I'm glad neither article referred to that pair of scum as "parents" at any point. Best wishes to those children, I hope they find a loving family.

rokerovakero @ Jul 16th 2007 1:49PM

These guys were playing Dungeons & Dragons, that tells you how "hardcore" they are, last century they were called nerds, they probably were dressed as a wizard and a thief using invisibility level 4 as they were taken away...

sheppy @ Jul 16th 2007 2:19PM

Hilarious, seriously. Especially since soooo much of video gaming owes it's roots to Dungeons & Dragons. And yes, that includes outside of RPGs.

But hey, you're cool now. You've bashed D&D. Even made a LARPing joke (heavily raped from Reno 911 where it was actually funny... which was raped from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, where it was funny there as well) despite the fact that most LARPers nowadays are into Vampire. But hey, it's cool. You tried. No points taken off, just do me a favor.

Never fucking breed.

baby sea tuna @ Jul 17th 2007 8:41AM

Ouch. I think you touched a nerve there, buddy.

It'll be okay, Shep. Don't worry, when you get your +3 Helmet of the Pendragon back from the repair shop, you'll show that guy what's what...right?

rokerovakero @ Jul 16th 2007 1:52PM

Not forgettin how nasty that fucking cat they have is. Any cat that urinates on your kids' heads needs to go, what is that cat's name? Garfield??...

cwolf267 @ Jul 16th 2007 1:56PM

I think R. Kelly would be much more suitable

Moffka @ Jul 16th 2007 1:52PM

Those parents deserve any jail time the get. Seriously thats fucked up.

But yea, I really hope this doesn't catch on to mainstream news and then is twisted to make all gamers look bad.

Matt B @ Jul 16th 2007 2:00PM

I have 3 kids and sure, they cut way into what I would want to be gaming time. But believe me when I say that you will have so much more fun with your kids than any video game will ever be able to give.

These people shouldn't have been allowed to breed to begin with. obviously, they were not ready for the responsibility.

Zach S @ Jul 16th 2007 2:04PM

I think one of the main aspects of gaming "addiction," if not THE main aspect is choosing the game over life. These parents decided to "level one more time" instead of feed their kids and "finish one last quest" instead of changing their childrens' diapers. It's easy to get wrapped up in game, but I think that some people just don't realize that they need to take a BREAK sometimes - the game that you're playing is NEVER more important than living your life and taking care of yourself and your dependents, even if it might seem that way.

nawtyeravgjoe @ Jul 16th 2007 2:07PM

i'm addicted to joystiq =(

CD @ Jul 16th 2007 2:09PM

I don't see any mention of them being malnourished or ill. So apparently they took time out to feed and bathe themselves? If that's the case I'd call this attempted murder.

GodisaMyth @ Jul 16th 2007 2:14PM

These pathetic sub-human slime and their complete disregard for compassion have no business continuing to breathe oxygen. Hopefully, they will put these monsters in general population so that justice Hammurabi style can be implemented.

This has nothing to do with videogames. These sick fucks would have abused (I do not call this neglect, this is fucking torture on the most inhumane scale) their kids another way if it wasn't playing a videogame.

I would assume that the kids would have been crying for food, some semblance of sanitary conditions, and oh, I dunno some fucking love and compassion.

I am not a violent person, but I would make an exception in this case, and I would see to it that they would suffer for a very, very long time.

I have 2 kids myself and I am just sickened by they way some kids are abused in this country. Anyone who abuses or takes advantage of an animal or human who is smaller or weaker than them is the worst kind of homosapien.

I say to these monsters and other like them.
FUCK OFF and DIE!!!

whosmav @ Jul 16th 2007 2:15PM

You sound crazy

JonnyBoy2U @ Jul 16th 2007 2:58PM

Calm the fuck down man....

You sound just as insane as the idiotic couple.

GodisaMyth @ Jul 16th 2007 3:10PM

Calm down...whatever. No, I will not. Child abuse is a BIG problem in this country and it's nonchalant attitudes like yours that piss me off.

Kids that are abused like this are relying on other adults to be aware of their suffering.

Tell those kids and others like them to "calm the fuck down"

You say I sound crazy. Fine, whatever it takes to bring these atrocities into more light.

This goes on everyday all over this country but it barely makes a footnote next to the fucking Drug War or other issues that are of much less importance.

Admiral @ Jul 16th 2007 2:14PM

I spent an hour just playing hide and seek with my 4 year old yesterday. WAY better than videogames.

This story isn't much different than the stories of "parents" who leave their kids locked in the car in a casino parking lot while they gamble for hours on end. It's just more fashionable to bash videogames today than to bash gambling.

Jonathan Tran @ Jul 16th 2007 2:21PM

It's not the parents' fault. They rolled orcs and are not used to a nurturing society.

sheppy @ Jul 16th 2007 2:24PM

I may sound cruel and evil as I say this but... oh darn, they lived. These poor children now have a doomed life of "where are they now" followup stories as classmates constantly call them pisshead and other such names before the children start taking to video games and violent fantasies, finally during their freshman year, brother and sister pull a Bonnie & Clyde, whack 100+ of their classmates, leveling their handgun proficiency and having the second event in their life blamed on video games before finally taking the gun to their own heads and pulling the chickenshit escape plan.

Meanwhile, if these poor kids died, they could be spared a lifetime of a tragic legacy and as an added bonus, human gene pool stays a little cleaner...

God... I'm evil.

Evan @ Jul 16th 2007 2:38PM

I wholeheartedly disagree. Both are less than two years old, both will luckily lose most of these memories as they grow older. Both will luckily be able to move into new families, be adopted, and change names if need be. Names of minors involved with incidents like these are usually not disclosed to the public which will protect them from constant media scrutiny. These children will probably always know what happened, but that circle doesn't have to extend much further.

Luckily these kids are so young this won't touch them the same way it would if they were just a little bit older and developing unique personalities while emulating their parents' behavior.

I really hope you were just trying to be funny.

dpad @ Jul 16th 2007 2:59PM

"I may sound cruel and evil as I say this..."

You don't sound cruel - you sound like an idiot.

I suggest you take your previous advice from a couple posts up and 'never fucking breed'.

sheppy @ Jul 16th 2007 2:25PM

LOL!

Evan @ Jul 16th 2007 2:31PM

This is just tragic. Video games or no video games, this is just terrible news. I know all of us want to instantly pause and put our video game defense shield without diving too much into what happened, but seriously pause and think about what has happened to these children.

It doesn't matter how much anyone tries, there will always be people that are just worthless in our society. Video games may be what took their attention away from their children, but video games aren't the reason it was ok in their heads to ignore them. But, as with the case will all extreme cases like this, commentators will look for a simple explanation: video games. Then our society will continue along ignoring the real issues; happy they have something to blame for their problems and move on in life. It is a terrible cycle.

Jake @ Jul 16th 2007 2:41PM

It sickens me how some morons in our country will read this and it will help shape their opinion and perception of video games and their "dangers". This story is for entertainment only. We have 300,000,000 people in this country and one little story is meaningless.

Did you know that hundreds of people die each year because they are wearing a seatbelt during a crash? Even though seatbelts statistically increase, by a large margin, your chances of surviving a crash, there are still many instances when people are trapped in a sinking or burning vehicle or because the belt did not allow their body to flop away from the area crushed by the accident.

My uncle survived (barely) a car crash where the roof smashed down flush with the bottom of the steering wheel, knocking him into the passenger side and sealing him in. If he had a seatbelt on, he would have been held to the driver's side and thoroughly crushed.

The point of my seat belt story is that in a country with 300,000,000 people, a story about my uncle or these D&D geniuses is absolutely meaningless. It is just entertaining omgwtf reading. I bet gamer parents have a statistically nearly identical chance of being neglectful (legally speaking) than non-gamer parents.

To quote the article "As we become more technologically advanced, there's more distractions," Killen said. "It's easy for someone to get addicted to something and neglect their children. Whether it's video games or meth, it's a serious issue, and (we) need to become more aware of it."

Video game neglect is ultra-rare, as stated earlier in the article, while meth related neglect is hugely prevalent and out of control. Yet this genius likens them to one another. Meth increases neglect chances by 1000 times or something insanely high compared to non-meth users. Games increase it by less than 1% or potentially decrease it, but since it is so rare it has never been studied. Brilliant, let's compare them to one another.

I want to punch that person, and others like him/her, in the face, with a hatchet.

Farseer @ Jul 16th 2007 2:48PM

If one were to hit another in the face with a hatchet, would the maneuver still be called a punch?

horngreen @ Jul 16th 2007 3:03PM

Shut up nerds! The reason this is headline news on here is because this IS related to videogames. You all get your panties in a wad everytime somebody does something bad and video games are involved. Your kneejerk reactions are pathetic. Games won't be outlawed because poeple like this make mistakes so your precious hobby/obsession will remain in tact. I'd rant more but I need to clean the cat piss off my 2 year olds head!

polly @ Jul 16th 2007 3:13PM

There's no cure for stupid.

Viridium @ Jul 16th 2007 4:09PM

I just can't wrap my head around this at all. I can't wrap my head around ANY kind of child abuse or neglect.

I love my video games, don't get me wrong. I've played for decades now, and I hope to keep that trend up. But I love my 9 month old daughter more than pretty much anything else in the world. If a fire breaks out in my house, you can guarantee that my wife and daughter are going to be the first two things out the door.

Who could possibly hurt a child?

Nate @ Jul 16th 2007 4:13PM

For pete's sake, don't blame the game; parents are neglectful all the time w/o video game involvement at all. These people were dumbasses...

BananaBoat @ Jul 16th 2007 4:16PM

Putting a game above your children, and almost killing them? This is one of those times where I wish the crime had happened in China, so the people involved could get the death penalty.

This kind of retardity is why my parents, and my non-gamer friends will never accept my hobby as anything other than a joke.

absolute_nonsense @ Jul 16th 2007 4:59PM

My heart goes out to these children, I can only hope that the parents are ashamed and move towards redemption.

As a gamer in his 30's i've been gaming for over 20 years and I would say that the jury is still out on what games do to a persons mind.

I'm not saying that they make people crazy, i'm a hardcore oldschool gamer, and have played games almost my entire life. I'm married, good job, and a child and haven't lost my mind, but yet in still gaming has undeniably helped to shape who I am.

I think some of you are way to defensive when someone says anything about games being bad or potentially bad as well. Get over it, they've allways done that, hell, you should've been around when Splatterhouse released on the TG-16 or better yet Night Trap on Sega CD. The funny thing is alot of the same people who say games are harmless, are the same ones to drop the N-bomb, curse you out, call you gay etc., all while being a kid playing from the security of your bedroom because they don't have the intestinal fortitude to say so at school.

Now, one could easily chalk that up to parents who don't pay attention to there kids or raise them right, and I would agree with that. However, there is more to it than that. At some point everyone becomes accountable for his/her actions. IMO that time comes when you can realize the difference between right and wrong. As games have gotten increasingly violent, and parents less involved in there kids lives, I have seen a definate change in behaviour and attitude of todays gamers.

I'm not saying that games are bad, again, I play ALOT of games allways have, allways will. But i've seen the industry change from the 8-bits to the behemoths of today and everything inbetween (yes I did have games on my Jaguar I liked, namely Aliens vs. Predator and Tempest 2000) and unless your old enough to have been thru the change I don't think you can say either way.