North Carolina mom gets 7 days in jail for baptizing daughter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A Charlotte mother will be spending seven days in jail for getting her daughter baptized.

The court case goes back a couple of years to when Kendra Stocks and Paul Schaaf were in a custody battle over their daughter. According to court documents, the two could never agree on religion, WSOC reports.

Court records said Schaaf is a practicing Catholic who attends Mass every week, and that ultimately the court granted him final decision-making authority on all legal custody decisions, including decisions concerning religion.

Both parents were warned that they could go to jail if they ignored the warning.

But records indicate that the next day, Stocks went out and baptized her daughter, which Schaaf found out about on Facebook.

The court documents stated that “the mother has acted selfishly by depriving the father of the ability to be present at an event that was extraordinarily important to him.”

The judge found Stocks in contempt of court and sentenced her to seven days in jail.

In contempt cases, a judge can order someone detained if they believe someone is improperly challenging or ignoring the court’s authority; violators can be fined, jailed, or both.