No crime was committed.
That’s attorney Brett McIntosh’s take on why the 12th Circuit State Attorney Office won’t be going forward with a child abuse charge against his client, former Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce president Deborah Wing.
Assistant State Attorney Bill Greiner announced the decision at a May 4 arraignment hearing on the charge suggested by the Holmes Beach Police Department.
Greiner was unavailable for comment at press time.
Wing was arrested by the HBPD a month to the day before the decision, after officers were called to Harrington House Bed and Breakfast Inn, 5626 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach, where Wing and her family reside, because Wing reported a family member missing. There, witnesses said Wing had slapped a family member, according to police reports.
McIntosh previously told The Islander the Holmes Beach police arrest was improper because parents may discipline their children with slapping.
“I’m pleased,” McIntosh said May 6. “It’s unfortunate she was charged in the first place.”
He said he believes the prosecutor’s decision came from “looking at the facts and speaking to the witnesses.”
“It’s evident to me that there was no crime committed,” and typically, McIntosh said, that’s why the state declines to prosecute.
— Kathy Prucnell