f13.net

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070715/D8QD02LO0.html
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RENO, Nev. (AP) - A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said. Both children are doing well and gaining weight in foster care, prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Michael Straw, 25, and Iana Straw, 23, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts each of child neglect. Each faces a maximum 12-year prison sentence.

Viloria said the Reno couple were too distracted by online video games, mainly the fantasy role-playing "Dungeons & Dragons" series, to give their children proper care.

"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games," Viloria told the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.

Her brother had to be treated for starvation and a genital infection. His lack of muscle development caused him difficulty in walking, investigators said.

The Straws have been given public defenders. Jeremy Bosler, head of the county public defender's office, declined to comment to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Michael Straw is an unemployed cashier, and his wife worked for a temporary staffing agency doing warehouse work, according to court records. He received a $50,000 inheritance that he spent on computer equipment and a large plasma television, authorities said.

While child abuse because of drug addiction is common, abuse rooted in video game addiction is rare, Viloria said.

Last month, experts at an American Medical Association meeting backed away from a proposal to designate video game addiction as a mental disorder, saying it had to be studied further. Some said the issue is like alcoholism, while others said there was no concrete evidence it's a psychological disease.

Patrick Killen, spokesman for Nevada Child Abuse Prevention, said video game addiction's correlation to child abuse is "a new spin on an old problem."

"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."

Very sad.

Speaking of children and videogames, there's a WoW story in the news (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22063047-5001021,00.html).

They were addicted to Dungeons and Dragons Online???

I wonder where the social workers came from, they don't just go door to door asking to see the children so I imagine these worthless parents had a history.

My God I hate the world.

I wonder if I ever had any children?  (http://www.terranuts.com/forums/images/smilies/headscratch2.gif)

Your children are not forever. Tier Five is forever.

My god my posts are getting snarky.

"Forever" being how long it will take for Blizzard to patch in higher raid content.



...So, what, 8 months?

DDO has an end game?

Yet more evidence that people should get a fucking licence before breeding.

You know that dragon that was prominently featured in their marketing material? They patched it in a few months after the game shipped.

I was going to play a little Gothic 3, but I decided to smoke some methamphetamines instead!

A-fucking-men. They need to spray birth control into the air like fucking pesticides and give people a temporary antidote only after they have passed a series of classes and can prove that they are willing and capable of rearing a chlid who won't be breaking into my house in 13 years.

Exactly my first thought and I feel quite bad about that.

You must be thinking of the late bloomers. I'm sure these kids would start around age 10.

Of course, you'd know they were coming from a mile away, what with cat piss scented hair spray.

I imagine it was WOW, as most laymen will use the term Dungeons and Dragons with anything to do with fantasy.

Most younger laymen would use the term World of Warcraft to refer to Dungeons & Dragons. Its a the choice of a new generation™.

Not if its some 50 year old reporter struggling to come to terms with the video game phenomenon altogether.  Every once in a while you still see those KIDS PLAYING "GAMES" ON MOVING PICTURE BOXES: THE NEXT BIG THING?  type stories in local papers, although I think we'll almost out of that phase. 

Sooooo... is there a middle generation that calls it Magic: The Gathering?