TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Dad Says Justice System Failed Troubled Teen Girl

ADVERTISEMENT

By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

DADE CITY - Shane Rupple thinks the justice system has failed his daughter.

Just five months ago, 16-year-old Victoria Rupple pleaded guilty to trying to drown her younger brother in the bathtub during a game of "cops and robbers." She was sentenced to a minimum of nine months in a residential treatment program and five years of probation.

Victoria Rupple reappeared in a Pasco County courtroom Tuesday, two months pregnant and "full of tattoos." She violated the terms of her probation by testing positive for drugs and her probation officer characterized her behavior as "all over the place."

"I feel the justice system has done the opposite of what I'd hoped for," the teen's father said after the lengthy hearing.

Shane Rupple signed off on the plea arrangement that he thought was sending his daughter to a safe treatment center in Pinellas County. At some point, concerns arose about the safety of the facility, so Victoria was moved to a second residential program.

In court Tuesday, Shane Rupple told Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa that the home his daughter had been moved to was nothing more than a halfway house for troubled adults. He told Siracusa there was no supervision and "nobody there that's able to make rational or good decisions for her."

Siracusa ordered the girl into Pasco's Juvenile Detention Center pending the outcome of a hearing Friday, when Victoria is expected to admit the probation violation. Juvenile justice officials will then meet to determine an appropriate sentence, which could range from placement in another nonsecure facility to commitment in a lock-down facility.

The sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6.

Shane Rupple watched the hearing with the look of a pained father wondering what had happened to his daughter. She had always been a bright, happy-go-lucky child growing up.

A few years ago, Victoria's mother committed suicide, throwing the girl into a mental and emotional tailspin. Her grades dropped and she began seeing a counselor. She spent a year living with her aunt in Tampa, then moved back in with her family in Wesley Chapel in the spring of 2006.

By then, Victoria seemed to be doing better. She was attending Wesley Chapel High School and got along well with her 9-year-old brother, Michael. But on Aug. 12, 2006, Victoria's 16-year-old stepbrother returned home and found Michael face down in the tub.

The boy spent a week in St. Joseph's Hospital but has made a full recovery.

Victoria Rupple was taken into custody in October 2006, where she remained until she pleaded guilty in July and was sent to Pinellas County.

Shane Rupple has been in court for each of his daughter's hearings. Tuesday, he stood in the back of the courtroom and watched as his daughter mouthed the words, "I hate you," and "Go away" to him.

After court, he said he and Victoria haven't spoken since he learned she was pregnant two weeks ago. Still, he came to the hearing, hoping that this time his daughter receives proper treatment.

"I'm thinking of seeing a psychiatrist myself," he said. "I'm going out of my mind worrying about this child."

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT