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"People tend to view Rhonda Tavey as either a saint or a fool."
Those were the first words in a 2006 Dallas Morning News article about a generous Samaritan who opened her home and her heart to a struggling Katrina survivor and her five children.
Today the FBI would add "kidnapper" to the words used to describe Rhonda Tavey. Tavey was arrested on kidnapping charges for abducting the five children that their mother, Erica Alphonse, left in her full care for at least 2 years. Tavey originally met the Alphonse family during the Katrina aftermath while she was volunteering at a Red Cross Shelter. Tavey says she felt moved to help out the family and in 2006 expressed joy about her commitment:
"Blessed," [Tavey] says loudly, over the din of a kitchen full of kids, none older than 6. "I couldn't love these kids more if they were my own."
This year, as she and the rest of the brood sit down at a crowded Thanksgiving Day table in New Orleans, Ms. Tavey will give thanks for what most people view as an overwhelmingly thankless burden: responsibility for someone else's children.
And that is the glaring fact at the heart of this case. The Alphonse kids do not belong to Tavey even though Alphonse periodically signed over temporary custody to her. Still Tavey contends that she whisked the children away because she caught Alphonse with Tavey's bank records in her purse and when Tavey confronted her, Alphonse threatened bodily harm. Further, Tavey contends that Alphonse is a drug addict and only wants the children back because her Katrina aid is soon to expire and she wants the kids to insure a welfare payment. So far, there has been no reported evidence that Tavey's claims are true.
But it would not matter even if Tavey's allegations were true. The sometimes gut wrenching truth is that unless parental rights are surrendered, it is often impossible to wrest custody away from parents even when there is clear and extensive documentation of abuse. That is not the case here. To date, Tavey's allegations have not been substantiated in any way.
It is a complicated story. Please click on the hyperlinks throughout this post to get a more thorough understanding of the case.
So what do you think? Did Tavey get over attached to the kids and take advantage of a vulnerable mother? Or is Alphonse choosing financial gain over the well being of her children?
Comments: (9)
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By: carol on 8/26/2008 8:32AM
she was getting money to good samaritan my a--
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By: carol on 8/26/2008 8:38AM
drug that what thy say /all black folk dont do drug we have famliy home car and jobs thank you very much
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By: Anna Jean on 8/26/2008 9:56AM
Of course Tavey got attached to them they are cute kids, but I bet she also got attached to that check she was or is getting from the government. She is probably right the mother also needs a check, but she is their mother, either way they are being supported by the government.
Maybe the mother had Tavey's bank records so that she could see for herself just how much Tavey was being paid for the kids. I'm sure it was a lot, with five kids. The mother wouldn't get half as much from the government i'm sure of that.
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By: Moni on 8/26/2008 10:13AM
First of all I think that Alphonse took advantage of the whole situation! She should be thankful that Tavey took her and her kids in during that difficult time and agreed to look after them after she left them!! The question that has never be answered is: Why did she leave her kids in the first place for 2 long years? What tha hell was she doing during that time? Evidently she didn't care too much for her kids to leave them like that for that long. Yes, Tavey became attached to those kids. She loved them because she took care of them like a real mother should have. There is no way in hell I would leave my kids like that! Now she wants to say that the lady kidnapped them? No, you abandoned them!! I pray that Tavey is set free from those charges and God continue to bless those kids and that sorry mother of theirs takes care of them!!
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By: Khalilah on 8/26/2008 10:29AM
I can see both sides of it. First why do she feels it is her right to take this woman kids.. And why did this woman think it was ok to leave her kids for at least 2 years with this woman...
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By: Tiffany on 8/26/2008 2:25PM
I'm from New Orleans and can tell you that there are a lot of young women with all these kids and only care about what the government can give them. I'm sure Alphonse was thinking about all of the food stamps she gets, the fact that if she doesn't have a job she can live rent free in a 4-5 bedroom home away from the projects thanks to Section 8, and the welfare because it seems like the father(s) are not around for these kids.
Also, Tavey seems like she's crazy. Even if she was right MORALLY, this is still kidnapping. I'm sure she is also getting government funds for these kids, so she shouldn't try to use that case on Alphonse. Even while filing for your tax return, they asked for SSNs of Kartina victims to claim as dependents.
Is a Texas social worker looking into this because it seems to me that they both see these kids "gub'ment" cash cows. I think at least someone from Alphonse's family should take care of the kids until this madness is sorted.
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By: Tiffani on 8/27/2008 1:31PM
In what world is it o.k. to decide to leave your children with a perfect stranger and come back to get them cause I feel like it now. I am a single mother of 3 children I don't get to take a vacation from that. I am mother every day all day no one makes you walk away from your children. You decide to do that on your own. Every bad decision should come with consequences and not a slap on the wrist.
Biology does not make a mother or a father love devotion and commitment does. I don't care what color this Alphonse woman is she is morally bankrupt and we think it o.k. that she be given these children back to raise on her values or to abandon whenever the feeling hits her again. Only next time there won't be anyone to catch those children but the system. The fact that this Black woman with all of the beautiful, well mannered, smart children left her kids to go do God knows what pisses me off. How dare she take for granted the gifts given to her and think they are like toys that you come back to collect when you are done playing somewhere else. She is wrong. The system that would allow her to do that is wrong. And I pray for these children who are going to be snatched out of a stable home because she can play the race card.
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By: Aisha on 8/27/2008 7:43PM
As a mother of two and a step parent of four, I can under Ms. Tavey's attachment to those little ones. I also have two of my step children who's mothers have totally given up on them. Someone has to step up and take a stand for the children. Someone has to make sure that the children are taken care of properly. I think that the fact that the mother of the little one's left them for two years should really taken into consideration. Although, she is their mother and she has to be given the right to have the children back first, what will happen if she decides to take off for another two years, who will take care of them then? Yes, this is a tough situation but what is most important is what is in best interest of the children. I think this situation should be looked into more closely. As I said before, someone has to take care of those little ones and do what's best for them.
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By: Demetria on 9/02/2008 7:26PM
I know that everyone has many different opinions about this lady and the situation. We do not know all of the facts. I do not think she should be brought up on kidnapping charges because she probably saved these children's lives. It is wrong that she ran with the children because she has no legal rights. But I am sure this lady loves the children very much and I do not think she would hurt them. As for the person that made the comment about the check that Mrs. Tavey may or may not be receiving for the children I would like to say there is not enough money in the world that could be enough to take care of 5 children for 2 years. I think she genuinely cared for the children from her heart. There are not many white women that would take in 5 african american children. She should be given more credit for what she has already done instead of what she is doing now. She is also a victim in this situation. Please remember she took care of children that no body else seemed to want at the time. I am praying for them all.
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