Children’s public punishment draws notice in Pahrump

Three children stood for five hours Wednesday at a busy Pahrump intersection, sent there by their mother to punish them for mistreating family pets.

Gillian, 8, Derek, 10, and Taylar, 13, stood at the intersection of state routes 160 and 372 each holding a handwritten sign designed to tell passing motorists what they’d done. Taylar held her hand over her lowered face.

“Taylar, uncover that sign and turn around and face traffic up or you’ll get an extra 10 minutes out there while your sister and brother get to sit down,” said the children’s mother, Audrey, who asked that the family’s last name not be used.

Audrey said that at first she was worried what people might think, but by the end of the five-hour stint next to the road, she had no more worries.

“By far people were very positive as they stopped by or rolled down their windows to talk to the kids,” Audrey said. “One man spoke to the kids three times, telling them they ought to be ashamed of themselves,” she said. Another passer-by asked, “What were you thinking?”

The incident occurred when their mother left the house for an hour and 15 minutes, leaving them on their own with Taylar in charge. “She’s old enough to know better,” Audrey said. “They know the rules. They know not to be outside. They know not to be by the horses.

“The kids went outside and let the goat out and they chased it. The goat likes to run, anyway, but they were chasing it with a small board and Taylar was on the horse chasing it. They didn’t hurt the goat, but they scared it.”

The children also scared a kitten by placing it on a pillow and striking the area next to where the kitten was sitting.

“Taunting and scaring an animal is not tolerated in our family,” Audrey said. “As parents, we have to stop that kind of behavior before it gets worse; or else what will they do next? Hurt a person?”

In addition to their public punishment, the children were visited by a family friend who is a parole officer. “That scared them,” Audrey said. “We want them to know scaring animals or hurting them is totally wrong.”

One woman parked her vehicle and walked over to talk with the children. She had made her own sign that said, “Jesus forgives you and so do I.”

The children also were grounded for a month and they are not allowed any interaction with their pets.

“I’ve rescued numerous horses,” Audrey said. “I know what happens when bad behavior isn’t punished. It can escalate. ”

Audrey said an animal control officer visited them on the corner and lectured the children. She also said a Nye County sheriff’s deputy stopped by to tell her calls were coming into the switchboard claiming what she was doing was abusive.

“Deputy Erickson came by and spoke to me,” the children’s mother said.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo called the matter a “private parenting affair” and offered no further comment.