Indiana has a unique laws on domestic abuse and reporting child abuse; Amber could wind up in more trouble than she knows!
When Teen Mom Amber Portwood was filmed punching Gary Shirley in the head on the Sept. 28 episode of the show, with their baby Leah at her feet, she probably had no idea how much legal trouble the video could create!
Apparently domestic violence in front of a child under the age of 14 in Indiana can lead to felony charges, according to Caryn Burton, Training Director at the Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
HollywoodLife.com called the cops in Anderson, IND., who also confirmed the possibility of felony charges in Amber’s case.
And Amber’s legal woes don’t end there: Besides the felony charges, next is the investigation that is currently underway with the Department of Child Services.
We spoke to Ann Houseworth, Communications Director for the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS). Houseworth told us in the state of Indiana, any one who sees abuse or suspects abuse of a child, are mandated to call the Indiana Child Abuse Hotline.
Charges can be filed against people who saw or suspected abuse if any had taken place. The law is very clear: “Failure to report child abuse/neglect is a crime … Indiana law requires any person who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of abuse or neglect to make an immediate oral report to DCS or to law enforcement.”
Right now the Indiana Department of Child Services is in the assessment phase of the investigation, Houseworth tells HollywoodLife.com. This means that within 30 days from the start of the investigation, DCS will request interviews with parties involved; including friends, neighbors and any other witnesses.
Gary and Amber are going to be pretty busy when they get back from their Florida vacation next week, between the DCS investigation and their anticipated interviews with the Anderson Police Department’s investigation into domestic abuse by Amber against Gary.
View Comment
Poetry
Posted at 12:27 PM on April 6, 2012
Hello there, You have done an incredible job. I will certainly digg it and in my opinion suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this site.
princessb
Posted at 9:09 PM on March 16, 2011
will gary kind of needed it he is lazy need to go to the gym!!to me amber didnt do the right thing but he wouldnt leave and kept running his mouth watever and once you provoc someone its not turning back!!!i dont think she should get arrested for it or anything cause they are saying child abuse she didnt touch her child so therefor its not child abuse dum dumb!!
chelle
Posted at 12:25 AM on September 21, 2011
2 different child abuse one is beating your child and the other is when a child is present and a parent hits the other parent etc which is the child abuse their talking about
Candi
Posted at 3:57 AM on November 25, 2010
Gary is an idiot and clearly lazy as hell. They were both annoying on the show and hearing about them is extremely annoying now. I hope Amber gets the help she needs and I wish them both well, but poor Leah deserves better than that. Both “parents” (and that is used very loose) need help and niether need to have Leah in their custody. Give that child to her grandparents till one of them gain some sort of sense
TAMEKIA PERTEET
Posted at 10:56 PM on November 18, 2010
I THINK THAT AMBER REALLY NEEDS HELP CAUSE IN THE PROCESS OF HER FIGHTING WITH GARY SHE COULD HAVE HURT LEAH AND THATS NOT RIGHT SOMEONE NEEDS TO STEP IN BEFORE SOMEONE REALLY AND THE PRODUCERS WAS WRONG FOR JUST STANDING AROUND AND DOING NOTHING THEY NEED O BE CHARGED AS WELL
Michelle
Posted at 6:27 PM on October 26, 2010
Clearly the child needs to be taken away from both of them. Gary is a nice man but when he allows Amber to do the crazy things she does, including doing them in front of the Leah, it shows that he lacks the ability to protect his child. What Amber is doing is wrong on so many levels and as the child watches this over and over again, it becomes the norm for her and in turn when Leah grows up she will continue the cycle. Either being the aggressor or being the submissive victim. Either way it is not good for the child. Gary, either be a man and take Leah away from this or you both deserve to lose her!
eastcoast6
Posted at 12:00 PM on October 25, 2010
Arrest everyone who saw the show! We’re all guilty of witnessing that debaucle.
avp
Posted at 4:16 PM on November 7, 2010
learn how to spell buttnugget
Candi
Posted at 3:58 AM on November 25, 2010
LMAO! What is a buttnugget?
chelle
Posted at 12:28 AM on September 21, 2011
hahah oh my freaking gosh thats hilarious!!!!
Dan
Posted at 11:27 AM on October 25, 2010
It’s funny how for both seasons she has hit and verbally abused Gary…and yet still MTV still allows her to be part of the show! All they do is put up the PSA at the end of the show…for real! If Gary was beating on Amber the whole country would be in an uproar and Gary would already be in jail, her being a teen mom is no excuse for the violent behavior that she displays…she is not the first teen mom to have it rough bottom line she needs her child taken away!
TAMEKIA PERTEET
Posted at 10:57 PM on November 18, 2010
I SO AGREE WITH U
AMBER'S DISGUSTING TEMPER
Posted at 11:39 PM on October 23, 2010
GARY SHOULD HAVE SOLE CUSTODY OF THE CHILD.
Only Amber needs serious counseling. They don’t need marriage counseling.
Gary should not stay with Amber. She loves Gary? She went back to Gary only
after some loser she met at a store cheated on her. She is using Gary. SHE IS A SELFISH OBNOXIOUS TEENAGER WHO SHOULD GIVE HER CHILD TO GARY AND HIS MOTHER. Amber has a temper that is absolutely disgusting.
shannon
Posted at 4:03 AM on October 21, 2010
Come on help Amber!!!!! She is not a bad person just needs some help!!!Life as a teen mom must be hard, it is if your grown so help her do not talk down about her. She needs someone to step up and do something not the law what is that showing the teen moms that can not handle there own life much less a baby and husband/boyfriend she has not hurt her baby yes mentaly she should not see what she has but it CAN BE STOPPED IF people step up a try to help this poor girl that if any mom of age knows she needs!!!! I want to just hug them all and talk to them how can people not feel for all of them they are all three babies to me :(
Wow...
Posted at 1:34 PM on October 24, 2010
Think of how stupid you just sounded. She shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions? What would you be saying if the roles were reversed and it was that Stay Puff Marshmallow man who hit the pig faced bitch instead of vice versa.
kimmy
Posted at 5:08 PM on October 20, 2010
everybody is quick to judge and yet the girl needs help or maybe even some time in jail and nobody wants to be treated in that manor,she is so fortunate that he is not the right man?,you know what i mean! but i hope that god takes over her situation and frees her to know that you,ve been there to honey.
Margaret
Posted at 1:58 PM on October 20, 2010
Does it really matter what season the pictures were taken!? She slapped, punched, choked, kicked and verbally abused Gary. Its funny how she can call Gary FAT, did she forget that she was also FAT!? All this she does in front of the camera, can you imagine all she does when the cameras are not around? She is TRASH and b=needs to be in jail!
Dayna Marie Lella
Posted at 8:57 PM on October 18, 2010
first of all, you should proboly get the correct photos! those are from teen moms season 1! second of all, lea was not home when this happened! get the damn story right!
BUT none the less, she should have lea taken from her, she is trash! and a psycho ugly bitch, who no matter how much weight she loses, she will always be ugly, inside and out!
Alana
Posted at 9:59 AM on October 19, 2010
Yes these are from season 1, but you are wrong on one thing. Lea was on the bed, they were visiting her dad and they brought the baby with them. Her dad and Lea saw the whole thing. Gary isn’t much better of a dad either because he curses in front of Lea also.
Jenny
Posted at 10:39 AM on October 20, 2010
regardless of what season these pics are from, she smacked the ish out of gary THIS season as he was leaving the home and that was definitely aired. TRUTH.
shannon
Posted at 4:30 AM on October 21, 2010
Why do you call her ugly looks have nothing to do with being a mom!!! I do not think she is ugly I think she is a sad girl that needs some help. It doese not help if she can read all these comments that says she is ugly (shes not) or bad mom yes she can do better WITH HELP NOT PEOPLE DOWNING HER!!!! WHY HAS MTV NOT JUMPED IN AND GAVE HELP OUT TO THEM??? THEY SURE GET IN THERE LIFE so she is a teen mom with no parents and cameras every where I am 35 and could not handle cameras on me all the time much less do it when your 16 with a baby!!! COME ON WORLD!!!!!! THINK ABOUT THE STRESS WOW I CAN’T HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY EVEN TRY!!! HELP HELP not trash talk that makes you worse!!
Tony
Posted at 11:46 PM on November 18, 2010
Shannon it sounds like you are condoning her actions! I’m sure her situation is very stressful but damn, THERE’S NO EXCUSE FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE! I just made that up.. you like that! I should make bumper stickers!
linda
Posted at 7:53 AM on October 21, 2010
i think she looks just like miss piggy!!!!
svj
Posted at 6:32 PM on October 18, 2010
i hope she gets arrested and thrown in jail. she is nasty trash who deserves to be someones b*tch.
shannon
Posted at 4:20 AM on October 21, 2010
Well you do not talk nice either so should you be in jail????
Spencer Hater
Posted at 4:11 PM on October 18, 2010
That girl is out of control and needs serious help! Gary needs to take his daughter and run and then have her arrested for abuse!