POSTED: 10:05 am CDT October 20, 2006
UPDATED: 10:49 am CDT October 20, 2006


JACKSON, Miss. -- The attorney for an Alcorn State University professor said his client admitted he was wrong to discipline his child with ants.

On Tuesday, professor Festus Oguhebe pleaded no contest to one count of felony child abuse for putting ants on his child.

Last year, he was charged with five counts of felony child abuse. The charges involved his children, ages 7 to 15.


Oguhebe's attorney, Robert Smith, said that in exchange for a no-contest plea, the other four counts were dropped.

"He believes in academic excellence. This stems from a bad report from school his child obtained, and he was concerned about that," said Smith.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Smith said the children are with Oguhebe's ex-wife.

Alcorn State said that no decision has been made on the professor's future at the university.

What the?

K im confused how does putting ants on a child equate to child abuse?

lazycrockett said:

Ants bite! Kids are typically afraid of them!

Omg, those poor kids.

How many ants?

evenstar3 said:

Id say ants are more likely to run away into the darkness than start biting a child. I dont think this article clarifys much of what is said to be abuse.

let me guess.....america?

lazycrockett said:

It doest not mention what kind of ants....maybe they were fire ants?

I guess this professor doesn't adhere to the "let the punishment match the offense" credo.

lazycrockett said:

Oh, nooo I grew up in the desert (plenty of ants there); they crawl on you and bite you if they're exposed to skin. It hurts like hell, trust me.

imagine the uproar if an ant daddy put humans on his baby ants

I wonder how many ants, and where on the child did he put them? Why couldn't the kid just brush them off? Did the man tie the kid up first?
I had a dog who used to like eating ants, he tried to eat one of those huge carpenter ants and the damn thing bit him on the tongue. Had to pull the little mouth pieces out with tweezers.

I think having ants put on a child would freak them out. I remember I was in the islands....I was standing somewhere I couldn't see the ground, the grass was very tall. When I moved to an area where I could see my feet, there were a bunch of ants on it so I ran to a house to wash off my feet.

shellyevon said:

yikes!

funkpill said:

The father receives a bad academic report about his child from school, so he puts ants on the kid to punish him? Makes no damn sense. Why not try to help the kid exceed in school, or maybe get him a tutor to help him? That father sounds like a nutjob.

jonylawson said:

The professor is a sick man

I still can't believe any child would be afraid of ants (any non american child apparently).

I've seen my 1 year old nephew covered in ants and he didn't seem to even notice them.

Spiders.well, that's another thing entirely

PANDURITO said:

ant bites HURT like needles.


[Edited 10/21/06 9:24am]

I'd be afraid too if Spanish ants did that