In case you’re not up to speed, Treffly Coyne is a woman from Tinley Park, Illinois who was arrested for briefly leaving her young child in her car alone in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The case caused quite a stir on message boards, with some claiming what Coyne did was reckless and she deserved to be punished, while most seemed to think it was an outrage and an overreaction by police. Well, the majority seems to have been vindicated, as prosecutors are indicating that they are going to submit a motion to drop all charges:

Treffly Coyne, 36, was set to go on trial Thursday on misdemeanor charges of child endangerment and obstructing a peace officer. But the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office found the evidence did not support the charges, sources said.

Prosecutors will drop the case at a Thursday court appearance in Bridgeview, sources said.

It was Dec. 8 when Coyne drove to Wal-Mart in suburban Crestwood so that her children could donate $8.29 in coins to the Salvation Army.

When she arrived, she parked in a loading zone. Her two-year-old daughter Phoebe was asleep. Coyne locked the car and activated the alarm, then took her two other daughters and another child to the Salvation Army donation kettle no more than ten yards away.

A community service officer intercepted Coyne on her way back to the car. Crestwood police then arrested her.

We’ll admit we’re bystanders when it comes to our children’s activities. For example, on a trip to Chuck E. Cheese you’re more likely to find us in a booth with a book than running around with our kids playing the games and climbing in the tubes. If you’re one of those parents, hey, more power to ya, but a story like this makes us think we’ve made a good decision:

A southern Utah woman is recovering after being scalped while riding on a go-cart.

Dawn Tiatia was riding go-carts at her daughter’s birthday party at a park in Saint George, Utah, a few weeks ago. A big chunk of her hair got caught in the machine’s drive shaft and was ripped off her head.

After spending several days in the hospital, she made a full recovery. The park says there are signs warning about long hair getting caught in the machines.

This is not an isolated incident. Two years ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning for riders to immediately stop using these types of go-carts until they can be retro-fitted because of this problem.

When our kid was in third grade, he barely knew how to make a phone call much less prank 911 to report a school shooting. So we find this story of a 10-year-old in Salem, Oregon who made such a call a bit troubling:

The Willamette Valley Communications Center received a call at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday from somebody claiming to be an eleven year old female, stating that somebody had been shot in the arm while on the playground at Bush Elementary School.

Several officers responded to the scene and arrived in less than five minutes, but they were unable to locate any shooting victims. There were several students and parents about on the playground where the shooting allegedly occurred, but none had witnessed any shooting or violence. In checking with school officials, they were also unaware of any such incident.

Officers worked closely with school officials and interviewed several children before arresting a 10-year-old female student for calling in the false report. The student was charged with Disorderly Conduct in the First Degree, Misuse of 911 and Giving False Information to a Police Officer, then was released to her parent.

Where did she make the call from? Perhaps this is another example of why 3rd graders shouldn’t bring cell phones to school. And going off on a tangent, isn’t 10 a little old for third grade?

A woman in Highlands Ranch, Colorado has been arrested for prostitution after she made sexual advances at an undercover officer in her home — with her two young kids next door:

While the undercover officer was with [Sheri Sims, 39,] her two youngest children, ages 13 and 16, were in next room, said investigators in court papers filed in Douglas County.

Her third child, 19, was downstairs, said authorities.

The documents claim that Sims made “contact that went beyond (an) appropriate massage.”

After the Highlands Ranch mother disrobed and began touching the genitals of the naked undercover detective, he gave fellow officers an arrest signal, according to the documents.

The investigation was conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff Department’s Special Investigations Unit, Pattern Crimes Unit and patrol division.

OK, anyone else find it odd that the investigation went so far that the detective was naked and got a little rubdown in the crotchal area?? That’s not how it works on Cops.

The family that harbors sex slaves together stays together… A mother and son in Jacinto City, Texas, near Houston, are being charged with hiding a young teenager from Mexico and farming her out as a sex slave:

Gregoria Salgada Vazquez and David Salazar have been charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault of a child. The two made arrangements for a minor younger than 17 years old to be transported from Mexico to Houston, according to police.

The mother-son pair own a night club in east Houston. Salazar was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday while Vazquez is scheduled to make her first court appearance March 31.

According to Jacinto City police, Vazquez and Salazar held the young girl in a room locked with a pad lock since Jan. 1. The two would only allow the girl to leave the room if they were present.

The girl was allegedly forced to have sex with Salazar and then taken to his night club where she was forced to have sex with clients. Police say Salazar and Vazquez would take the money received by the girl.