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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Man Jailed for Encouraging 3-Year-Old to Smoke

Dumb joke in UK earns him 18 months

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(Newser) – A UK man received 18 months in prison today for handing a 3-year-old girl a lit cigarette and encouraging her to smoke it—and inhale. He then asked a 14-year-old girl to record the event with her camera phone. In the video, the 31-year-old man can be heard laughing, “believing it to be a bit of a joke,” according to his defense attorney. “Clearly it’s not funny.”

One 16-year-old said they’d all thought it was funny at first, notes the Guardian. “She was inhaling and everything. It looked like she had smoked before. Graeme didn't tell her what to do. She just knew,” she testified. When the girl finished, she put it out in the ashtray and asked for another. "He said, ‘You’ve had enough’ and she started to cry, so he gave her another one.”

A UK man thought it would be funny to make a toddler light up.
A UK man thought it would be funny to make a toddler light up.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
A judge didn't think letting a 3-year-old smoke was very funny.
A judge didn't think letting a 3-year-old smoke was very funny.   (Shutterstock)
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I expect you realise now this was not funny at all. This sort of conduct could be very damaging to a child's health. You have completely disregarded her safety. - Judge David Wood

The essence of the offence is that he encouraged this child to smoke. He admitted giving a child a cigarette. He said he knew it was wrong and knew he shouldn't have done it. - Tony Glover, prosecutor

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16 comments
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Doctor_Zaius
Oct 15, 09 12:45 PM CDT
Ass. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
Alan_Harrington
Oct 15, 09 12:48 PM CDT
absolutely ridiculous. i hope he gets the shit kicked out of him. only 18 months for child abuse/endagerment? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
pwnage
Oct 15, 09 1:03 PM CDT
'a bit of a joke' your face, dude. Time to join the butt yogurt club in prison. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+1
Jayster999
Oct 15, 09 1:55 PM CDT
Smoke up, Johnny! Reply
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+3
bahari@bellsouth.net
Oct 15, 09 2:00 PM CDT
He really deserved more time than this in the slammer. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-3

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