CINCINNATI — A man ordered by a judge to make sure his daughter hit the books has found himself in jail because she failed to earn a high school equivalency diploma.

Brian Gegner, of Fairfield, was sentenced last week to 180 days in jail for contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a minor.

He was ordered months ago to make sure his 18-year-old daughter Brittany Gegner, who has a history of truancy, received her GED — something that hasn't happened yet.

Brittany Gegner, who said Monday that she plans to take a required GED test this month, said her father shouldn't be blamed for her failure because she has been living with her mother.

"It was my wrongdoing, not his," said Brittany Gegner, whose fiance and 18-month-old daughter also live at her mother's home in nearby Hamilton. "He shouldn't have to go to jail for something I did."

Her mother agrees.

"Brittany is almost 19 years old now and I think it's unfair to put her father in jail," said Shana Roach. "She's an adult now, and it's not right to rip an innocent man from his home."

Butler County Juvenile Court administrator Rob Clevenger Jr. said Monday that the court still has jurisdiction in the case because Brittany Gegner was a juvenile when the truancy problems began and when the charge against Brian Gegner was filed in 2007.

A hearing on a motion filed by Brian Gegner's attorney to reconsider the sentence is scheduled for Friday. Messages seeking comment were not returned Monday at the offices of defense attorney Tamara Sack and the Butler County prosecutor.

Brian Gegner's wife, Stephanie Gegner, said she and her husband are afraid he will lose his job if he remains in jail. She said they tried to keep his daughter in school.

"You'd take her to school and she'd go out the other door," Stephanie Gegner said.

This is one case where I would condone child abuse.

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This is one case where I would condone child abuse.

Yup. I had the same reaction when I read this earlier today.

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This is one case where I would condone child abuse.

Thats why this happens when one thinks of spanking his or her own child.
It is considered child abuse.Slowly we have become brainwashed idiots to the point of where all parenting skills are gone.
I do not condone abuse but a kick in the rear end never killed anyone.

Not saying she didn't need a spanking at some point, but a system that can jail someone for the action or inaction of someone over 18 years of age is fundamentally broken, and needs to be changed.

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Originally posted by tiggerp:
Not saying she didn't need a spanking at some point, but a system that can jail someone for the action or inaction of someone over 18 years of age is fundamentally broken, and needs to be changed.

Agreed.
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What's the background on this? I highly doubt they would throw someone in jail just because they didn't graduate high school or get a GED. After you're 18, you do decided if you want to stay in school or not.It's not law that you must hold either one. There must have been some type of problem prior to this since the judge ordered the daugther to get her GED in the first place. Maybe her punishment for a previous crime was to get a GED, instead of community service or something?
In this case, there must be some history of this guy not sending his daughter to school all along or something else.