Cops: Florida Parents Gave Girls Drugs for Doing Chores

When choosing between the carrot and the stick to motivate their girls, police say a pair of Florida parents chose a seriously illegal carrot. Joey and Chad Mudd of Largo were arrested Monday on child abuse charges: The couple are accused of smoking pot with their teen girls, ages 13 and 14. According to mom Joey, it "was an incentive to the children" for things like going to school and doing their chores, a rep for the Pinellas Sheriff's Office tells WFLA. Bay News 9 reports the 34-year-old confessed to smoking with them on at least five occasions in order to, as the station puts it, get the girls to "perform well in school," among other things.

She faces two counts of child abuse to her husband's six. His stem from allegations that the 36-year-old also snorted cocaine with his daughters. The Tampa Tribune cites affidavits that allege he did so with them in his parked truck in Tierra Verde and Treasure Island. He allegedly gave a friend of theirs cocaine, too. Bay News 9 reports police learned of the situation via a child-abuse hotline, and notes the girls are currently in the care of Joey Mudd's mother-in-law. Chad Mudd, who also faces a cocaine possession charge, remains in jail; Joey Mudd has been released but isn't permitted to see her daughters. (To say nothing of marijuana and cocaine, here's why you may not want to let your kids sip your alcohol.)