Yesterday we covered a new interview that June Shannon, Mama June from the now-canceled Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, had conducted with paparazzi outside her home. It was the first interview that June had done since the news broke that she had rekindled a relationship with the man recently released from a 10 year prison sentence for sexually abusing her oldest daughter, Anna. June was spotted purchasing a car and house hunting with the perp, Mark McDaniel, although she has repeatedly denied seeing him. In the interview conducted by paparazzi, Shannon was extremely inappropriate given the gravity of the situation. She laughed, joked around and kept saying “it will all come out” when questioned as to why she would put her children at risk. June has three underaged daughters still at home: Alana (Honey Boo Boo), 9, Lauryn (Pumpkin), 14, and Jessica (Chubbs), 17. She is currently under investigation by Child Protective Services.
Right around the time that June was laughing in an interview, her oldest daughter, Anna, was trying to get the message out about the reality of the situation. Anna, 20, now married with a two year-old daughter, told People that her mother has never apologized to her for what she went through as an eight year old left in McDaniel’s care. She added that her mother has never told her once that she believed her. In fact her mother asked her “why would you do this to me?” when Anna revealed to her at the age of eight that she was being sexually abused.
Entertainment Tonight aired part one of their interview with Anna last night, and I was touched by how heartfelt and brave she was. Anna has consistently been upfront with the press about a very painful part of her childhood. Here’s some of what she said. Anna broke down when asked if she would like to say anything to McDaniel.
I feel betrayed and I feel very hurt. That’s the main thing. I feel very hurt that Mama let him come around.
It’s like, you know, she’s happy. She was smiling and laughing and giggling when he was around. It’s like ‘he’s a child molester mama. He did this to me. Why would you let him come around the girls knowing what he did?’
What she’d like to say to Alana
The only thing I have to say to Alana is don’t get too close, don’t get too attached. Don’t get all lovey dovey on him because you never know what will happen.Asked if she’d like to say anything to him
[Cries] She let him get around Alana and Pumpkin, knowing that she’s going to get the kids taken away. Why let him? You should have told him to leave. You need to leave, Mark. Leave or I’m gonna call the cops because if that was me and I was there. I would tell him ‘you did to yourself, you’re not supposed to be around kids… either you leave or I call the cops and your ass will go back to jail…’ If that was me and people ask me ‘what would you do if Mark was in front of your face’ I would look at him in disgust, either spit in his face and say ‘you f’ing leave, or I’m going to call the cops.’ You’re not supposed to be here knowing what you did. Why would you be here, knowing you’re not supposed to be.How she heals from this
I just go day by day. I just try to go day by day. It’s mama’s fault. It’s her fault. She has to live with it… she has brung the past back and now she can’t get the past away now.
[From Entertainment Tonight, aired 10-30-14]
Tomorrow on ET they’ll have an interview with Anna’s grandmother, Sandra Hale, who raised Anna and advocated for her after she was abused. (I believe Hale is June’s mother because they also said that she’s Honey Boo Boo’s grandmother, and Alana has a different dad. All the girls have different fathers.) You can see a clip of Hale’s interview below. She was very matter-of-fact and her interview was chilling. Hale said that she wanted to kill McDaniel after learning how he hurt Anna, and that she’s worried for Alana (Honey Boo Boo) because “that’s the same age he likes.” She also confirmed that CPS contacted her recently and that she asked them to “please look into this carefully and closely.”
On ET they also showed paparazzi footage from June’s outing to Walmart with her ex husband, Sugar Bear, and their child Alana (Honey Boo Boo). The paparazzi asked June if she’d seen Anna’s interview (clips had been released online at that time) and June stayed silent. What is she going to do, laugh and say her daughter made it all up? She’s despicable. Radar has some insight as to June’s twisted thinking. A source tells them that June “insists that [McDaniel] only wanted to apologize for what happened with Anna. She felt bad for [McDaniel], and wanted to help him get back on his feet.” Until now, I’ve never heard of a mother “feeling sorry” for someone who molested their child.
I mentioned yesterday that McDaniel is technically allowed to be around children despite his past as a convicted pedophile. I was basing that on TMZ’s report that McDaniel is “doing nothing wrong” by being around June’s underaged daughters and that he “is allowed to mingle in society.” I did a little research and this is true. Georgia did have laws on the books prohibiting offenders from “living within 1,000 feet of a child-care facility, church, school or playground,” but that is dependent on when the crime was committed, and McDaniels’ crimes predate that. Plus Shannon’s home is a private residence, that statute wouldn’t protect her children.
Here’s part one of ET’s interview with Anna:
Here’s a preview of the interview with Anna’s grandmother:
Photos are screenshots from ET
What a nightmare this young woman is living in. Abused as a child and now her mother supports her abuser and favours him over her. This is such a sick mess, that I don’t even have the right words.
guy is just setting up his “in” with the youngest kid in this whole debacle, honey boo boo.
My heart absolutely breaks for her, I hope she knows that the public are 1000000% behind her and support her. Absolutely vile situation, June is going to end up a very sad and lonely old woman
have you ever read “Bastard out of Carolina”? That’s what this reminds me of.
Oh, I remember the movie. Poor Bones. But yes–it’s been years since I saw it, but even after her stepfather raped her that last time, the mother still went back to him. Even though her own daughter had to move out of her own home because of him.
I feel so sorry for the kids and even more for Anna, your own mom telling you she doesn’t believe you and proving she doesn’t give a c*** about your pain.
That poor, poor girl 🙁 My heart breaks for her. Her mother should be the one to count on in everything and here she’s the one letting her down the most 🙁 There should be a special place in hell for mothers like that. It’s pure evil.
I went back a while ago and re-read the Inferno by Dante, and I was struck by how he placed betrayers of family in the lowest circle of Hell, right near Lucifer himself. It’s striking that humans have always recognized that betrayal of one’s kin is among the worst of offenses. But he certainly got that part right.
Yes, there’s going to be a very special place in hell for those two, mark my words.
Seems she will find someone chewing on her head in the future.
This whole thing is just so profoundly sad and disturbing. Anna is so brave and her mother really does belong in the lowest circle of hell
It really is the ultimate betrayal. Parents are supposed to protect their children, not endanger them by allowing predators into their homes.
And it really is clear: June doesn’t believe Anna. If she did, she wouldn’t let the man around her current child. She is failing both Anna and her other children in so many ways.
In her heart of hearts, June may very well believe Anna. She just cares more about keeping this man around than about the damage he has done and will do to her children. It’s not that unusual for the partners of sexual predators to cover up for them, sadly.
Mama June is an idiot for that. Poor Anna
People need to stop blaming June’ s lack of education or lack of culture on her reaction. People defend child abusers all over their world. Every culture and economic background I guilty of blaming the victim.
Look at the class of people who defend Roman Polaski and Woody Allen. They overlook their past crimes and use their achievement as a distraction.
This is not a culturally issue in the South. This is an issue with child molestors and the fact that people forgive or question, transgressions they don’t see with their own eyes.
Preach!
+1
What always amazes me is when people tried to use that to justify their actions. I read somewhere that she got pregnant everytime her welfare was about to be stopped. She’s good at couponing (maybe she tried to get on that show too?) and she was putting her child in pageants and eventually got her own show and people call Kris Jenner a pimp? June doesn’t scream ‘dumb’ to me. A lot of them actually know how to use the system to their own benefit, they are cunning and not that dumb as they seem. June has a lot of issues but I don’t think she’s ‘slow’ at all.
I also agree with your last paragraph. I read some research about people being in denial about what victims go through (lack of empathy) because they are scared that it will happen to them. They don’t want to be ‘weak’ (= caring) as they think that will protect them. Being kind should be taught at school for all ages because society is so screwed up.
@Artemis,
Doesn’t it cost an arm and a leg to get your kids into pageants? I don’t know if a welfare check could cover all that. And no one has a child for welfare. Its just not enough for the expense that a child will incur. Its usually a $50 or less per month bump. Not enough to cover diapers. I’m thinking she did it for the same reason other women have been doing it for centuries. To keep a man. She seems the type to need a man in her life. Even if that man has abused her daughter. Who knows if he’s been mailing her while he was in jail? He had nothing but time on his hands and a fool (with money) on the outside.
@delrob
it cost a fortune to run the pageant circuits. the whole thing is nothing more than money making scam with the bread winners being the ones that host the pageants.
they charge for everything from the entry fees, pics, gowns and some even make the parents pay high tickets fees just watch. I only know this b/c a girl I used to work with entered her daughter in a few a them and I couldnt believe what it she told me some of the stuff cost. I also couldnt believe there were so many moms who didnt see it for the scam it was.
I don’t know, I’m not American and I don’t even follow the show. At the same place where I read that about the welfare checks, another person also mentioned what you said. They replied that most parents who put their children into pageants are the ones who aren’t well off so they hope their children become rich and famous etc. (stage parents basically). They waste their money on these things because they think they’re investing in a future ‘star’. So I don’t know but I think any parent who uses their child for pageants is quite irresponsible in my opinion.
I don’t know about her timing, I’m just posting what I’ve read online and seeing how June is as a person, I could believe it. don’t even know the rates of child benefits but I do know that in some countries, the rates are quite high (which I think is normal as a child costs a lot of money).
I would challenge your opinion about people not having children for welfare. I think it’s definitely a minority of people but I have met girls who couldn’t be bothered to work so they just had a child and as a single mom, you get accommodation too. I do have to say, those girls had issues with their family (historical abuse, neglect, being in care, mothers who also had teenage pregnancies) and/or mental health issues so there is a sense of hopelessness when you hear their stories. They feel like they have no other purpose in life than having a child to keep them company and they don’t have to work (because they feel they can’t, lack of skills etc).
I also worked for a children’s helpline and a lot of girls as young as 12 seem to want to follow the pattern they see at home and they think that having a child will give them everything in life because there’s no point in working for it. It’s really depressing, especially those that even admit they don’t really want children but they see it as their only option. Or they want a baby with their boyfriend so they can leave home and have their own place (extreme rebelling). And that was a case in a middle-class household and clearly, an intelligent girl. You would be surprised.
June is very much codependent and needy in relationships. I agree.
@delorb – my cousin will tell you straight up she had each of her kids for the welfare. her math might not make sense, but that was her reasoning. and she wants another for the same reason.
@delorb
Lisa is completely on point. I live here in the DEEP SOUTH & you’d be surprised how some mothers like June are able to calculate what funds & other welfare extras they can get for each child. There’s also a $2000.00-$4000.00 income tax credit every year for each child. It’s bizarre how the system works & I even had a female friend who basically had her last child in her 40’s so she could collect welfare almost into here retirement age.
Kcarp, for myself, it isn’t a pass. It’s an analysis of all of the variables that contributed, and not one thing alone. Cultural influence plays a role in legislation and is a reflection of societal norms. If you look back before the women’s suffrage movement, there is no doubt that women were not given the right to vote because, culturally, it was accepted that women were property and not independent, intellectually capable human beings.
That is not to say that legislation caused this woman to behave in a certain way of indifference to these horrendous acts, but that at the point of his arrest, the culture had not not properly assessed the damage and recidivism, and therefore gave more benefit of doubt to the perpetrator rather than consideration of the victim and future victims. Her experience was not in a vacuum, and her intelligence, possible past history of abuse, or acceptance of behavior and comprehension, may have had some impact on her actions. That doesn’t make her innocent.
I fully agree. It is not a lack of education that stops a mother from going to her crying daughter and instead, staying with the man that made her cry. Even if she does not believe her own daughter, that does not change that Anna is hurting. That should be enough. No education required to feel pain when your child feels pain. It is called being a mother!
Yes, this is true. There are any number of wealthy, well-educated people who fail to believe their children were abused, especially when the abuser is their partner. Anna is by no means the only person (because it’s not just women, either) who had to face this sort of betrayal of trust by a parent, and the people I know are from a variety of backgrounds.
Then you have the slime on the scum of the lowest of the low.
Robert H. Richards IV, wealthy heir to the du Pont family fortune was convicted of raping his toddler daughter, but the sentencing order signed by a Delaware judge said “defendant will not fare well” in prison and the eight years were suspended.
America has the worst justice money can buy.
Michael Jackson. Look at the pass he got. Since he has been dead for years and the trial is long in the past people have forgotten just how often he was accused.
It’s hard to wrap your head around the fact someone you liked or found entertaining could be such a predator. So many people will say but his accuser was sketchy.
Just how many people accused him? Yet he still was loved.
Really? Lack of education. I don’t buy it. THis woman knows exactly what she’s doing, this isn’t a third world county you know. We all watch the same tv, watch the same news, yadadayaya
I keep hoping there’s another side to this because it is just too awful.
Sadly, the one good thing that may come out of this horrible, horrible situation is that the stupid law should change. No child sexual predator should be allowed around any child at all for any purpose. If the molester has children, those visits should be supervised by a court official. It should be retroactive and mandatory for all convictions.
“No child sexual predator should be allowed around any child at all for any purpose. If the molester has children, those visits should be supervised by a court official. It should be retroactive and mandatory for all convictions.
”
THIS! While the law wouldn’t 100% protect all ids, at least it wouldn’t make it easy for an abuser to find new victims. Most mothers would not allow a convicted child molester to be around their kids, but clearly at least ONE POS would. I can’t fathom how this was ever NOT a law in GA. Or anywhere.
Yes, Pamela, I live in Ga and I am disgusted. We have a tight governor’s and senate race this year, and all they can say is “she’s just like Obama” or “he is not for education” when they should be talking about why so many convicted sexual offenders are allowed to further victimize innocent children.
It’s horrifying that he’s allowed unhindered access. Could not agree with you more.
Anna should feel pride in herself for speaking out and making sure this situation is in the public eye. If anything protects June’s younger children, it will be Anna’s brave actions here. I can only imagine how painful it would be to speak about this, and to listen to your mother defend someone who preyed on you when you were a defenseless child. Ugh.
Agree 100%, and it’s ironic that Anna, the victim here, is the one displaying all the courage and is the one fighting to protect her younger sisters. She gets it, but her mom sure doesn’t. It is staggering to think any mom could be so blind; she is all kinds of messed up.
I agree. I’m amazed how strong and brave she is being about this. I hope she realizes how much support and good wishes she has from everyone who has heard her story.
“I can only imagine how painful it would be to speak about this, and to listen to your mother defend someone who preyed on you when you were a defenseless child. Ugh”
Not only that, but to know that your younger sisters are all iving there? Poor Anna must be so hurt AND out of her mind with worry too.
Wow…that young woman is more of a woman than her mother could ever be. For one so young and to have had the traumatic child hood, her composure is all the more impressive. I hope she heals.
This makes me sick, and filled with rage. That man is a convicted sex offender. The fact that this loathsome woman would now allow him to be around her children should be a criminal act of child endangerment, and she should have her children taken away, and go to jail herself. She doesn’t deserve to call herself a mother.
Sorry to break it to you, but often the mother is the enabler in these situations. I grew up solidly middle-class; both parents degreed professionals. And my father was a pedo. He preyed on me and my sister. My mother knew, and stayed with him, and also kept it all quiet. Literally: she “instructed” us how to feel about it. This is where the rubber meets the road, folks. Right here, with the MOTHER.
No, June is not dumb white trash. She’s white trash, but not DUMB white trash. She’s just SELFISH. She clearly doesn’t believe that this dude is trouble, and doens’t care so long as she’s getting hers. If she walked in on this POS harming one of her children, she would blame the kid and keep the man around. It happens ALOT more often than you think.
Somebody on one of these blogs once said (I’m paraphrasing) “Some women would marry monkeys if there were no men around”. I think June fits this description, as long as you substitute “cockroach” for “monkey”.
Oh, and I forgot to add: lots of love to you, Anna. You’re going to be alright.
I’m so sorry you had to go through such betrayals by both of your parents. I agree with you that some women are so desperate for a man that they will justify anything he does to avoid losing him, and social class has absolutely nothing to do with it. It sickens me, and I have no words to express my hatred for this kind of person. I hope you have found some peace way from those monsters.
good god, jem. what a nightmare. thinking of people like your parents brings out violent tendencies in me that i normally don’t have. as a mother, i can’t imagine picking anyone, ever, over the health and welfare of my child.
You’re a very strong person and you sound amazing.
You’re right, it does happen a lot more. Pedos aren’t the ugly old men on the street in a van, snatching your kids the majority of the abuse happens within the home by somebody you know. This is why it’s hard to prosecute because children will defend their parent(s), there is still loyalty and ‘love’. To get evidence when people try to hide it and blame the victim so they are too scared to speak out is very much the reason why abusers run rampant in many societies. Plus the legal system who doesn’t give a crap about protecting and believing victims.
There is a never a point when a pedo crosses the boundary that nobody knows about. Never. Children behave differently. No parent should close their eyes for the warning signs, there is no excuse.
I wish there was more research on this as it can open people’s eyes in regards to abuse. Obvious evil isn’t the issue, people need to stop thinking that crime is ONLY committed by poor or ugly people and look at all the evidence of ‘good beautiful middle-class’ people who committed the most brutal crimes.
Jem, I am so sorry for your situation. I agree that mothers so often overlook abuse and it is because they are weak and selfish. In fact, I think it blows the lid off of the erroneous idea that having children makes you less selfish. If you are so self-centered to begin with that you need children to make yourself think of others at all, then it is unlikely you are really going to change very much by having kids. In any case, I wish you, Anna, and all of the far-too-many victims of childhood abuse all the very best.
Jem, based on what I’ve heard from the people I know who have had to deal with child abuse cases in a professional capacity, I don’t think your situation is unusual among victims of childhood sexual abuse. AT ALL. I’m so sorry you and your sister went through that.
I think frivolity has the right of it. A self-centered person whose primary concern in life is their own social standing and financial security will not suddenly become a lion-hearted warrior for their children when it is inconvenient and uncomfortable to do so. The primary fault lies with the pedophile, of course, but there is no excuse for acting as a pedophile’s enabler. In some ways, it’s worse than being an accessory to murder. A pedophile’s sexual orientation is extremely resistant to change over time, and their crimes rarely stop; the only preventative is imprisonment or extreme supervision. The suffering one pedophile can cause when allowed to act unchecked is immense.
Jem, I grew up in a similar situation, although my rapist was my brother. I was 7 when it started and it only ended when he was sent to a juvenile detention for stealing cars. My mother said she was hurt that I would say such a thing, that she was sorry “if it really did happen” but he’s her son and she would always love ans support him. She passed away at 80 and we never did have much of a relationship once I left the home. It breaks my heart (for Anna) and for you that you had to endure that. I am glad that Anna seems to have a loving and strong grandmother to stand beside her against these horrible people. I can only hope that CPS is paying attention. The media focus may be the only thing protecting Alana and the other daughter right now. It’s a no win situation.
Thanks for saying this, Jem. It’s surprising that people behave as if child molesters are just creepy people who try to lure kids into their white vans with candy, when typically they’re people the child knows and often the mother either knows or has some serious red flags that something amiss is taking place. And, of course, sometimes mothers even molest their own children.
I’ve seen a lot of discussion in psychological circles about how little is said about women’s roles in sexual violence when they’re often just as guilty – if not moreso – than the men. It’s frightening how many parents actively engage in prostituting their own children, much less how many like June allow molestation to go ignored for years. My own sister is estranged from our father because he refuses to believe that our older stepbrother was molesting her during the years we lived with him and our stepmother. But then, from what I’ve pieced together from the family over the years, his own mother ignored the fact that her eldest son was raping her only daughter for years. Human beings are a disturbingly unnatural species.
My heart hurts for you and for Anna. My mother didn’t throw me under the bus for a partner or lover, but for her son. I suspect she figured that it was all about percentages, since he did eventually supported her financially. Me, I went to college, rarely went home, until my niece was born. I remember when my niece (sister’s daughter) was under a year old, and sadly, my sister had to move into my mother’s house. I remember my brother hovering around and my mom letting him ‘play with her’. I left the house and called my sister when I got back to my house and told her in the most serious voice I could to not allow my mother to allow my brother around my niece EVER. No matter how much my mother will claim that she will keep an eye on her or on him, my mother’s word is worth less than a damn.
If I were to die today, my candor regarding that matter will be my greatest achievement.
And Anna will endure some more doubts due to all of this bull$hit, but she’s doing an amazing thing for her sisters, her daughter and future children, other young girls who were guilt-tripped into silence because their mothers made a clusterfcuk out of their own lives and erroneously feel that they have to make things rights for their mothers, and herself .
My heart breaks for this young woman and her entire family. As a victim of abuse myself, I know how much courage it took for Anna to come forward. Luckily, my mother was the polar opposite of June. A police officer had to actually restrain her from attacking the man who abused me. What a piece of trash June is! To choose a man over your children is disgusting. To choose the man who molested your own daughter over your children is unthinkable. I pray the authorities really are investigating the situation. They especially need to get Alana out of June’s care. At least until she can prove that she is no longer having relations with her daughter’s abuser. Men like this are always looking for their next victim.
I just can’t even imagine not having a mother, or a parent that wouldn’t defend you from something like that. I mean, my mom was literally starved as a child–she ate only one meal (school lunch) for years. And guess what? She goes out of her way to make sure me and my siblings have enough to eat. She literally came back from chemo, and spend her two week break before her radiation cooking for us, because we were calling her and telling her how cheap my dad was being with food. I can only imagine what would’ve happened if I’d been raped by someone (something I do worry about, because there are at least six convicted sex offenders that live in my little town).
I think that June should go to jail over this. She’s endangering her other kids, and is proving that she doesn’t have their best interests in mind. Even if she doesn’t believe Anna–Anna is CLEARLY upset and freaking out over him being around her siblings, and that should be enough.
I could barely watch this interview because it was so upsetting. Because you know the interview only scratched the surface of the emotional toll this whole situation has on Anna. Not only is she worried about her past scars but she also has to worry about her sister who is the SAME AGE she was when this happened. Plus she has a daughter to think about. What a mess. Anna, please take the offer for counseling. I hope she gets through this the best way she knows how.
my heart breaks for this young woman. no child should have to go through that. and to have it all dredged up again… her mother is a poor excuse for a human being.
I never watched the show, but these news are so horrible and sad. This young woman was clearly moving on from what she went through and now the past is haunting her. What mother could possibly out her kids in danger knowing he hurt one her daughters already? This is shocking and sad.
wow. just a sickened wow.
at least she is bringing attention to sexual abuse and to that monster. i hope he never rests in peace. EVER.
thanks god for anna.
This whole situation makes me so angry that I can’t post what I’m really thinking in this forum. It would be laden with profanity. So I will say this, I pray for Anna and for the girls still under her mother’s care. I hope CPS does their job and gets these girls under some sort of decent protection away from June.
Thank God the grandmother stepped up and believed Anna and filed charges. Disgusting her own mother wouldn’t do it.
If I remember right, Anna continued to live with her grandmother until just before the show started. I couldn’t understand why, but now for sure I can.
This girl is so impressive to be so strong! I mean, imagine, your own mother is choosing your abuser over you… how painful! Glad she has her gran on her side, at least.
Thank you for doing the research, to ensure your post was accurate. It’s a terrible topic to cover, and I always appreciate the sensitivity and accuracy this site brings to such terrible topics.
It’s just so sad. No protection for children, they just get lost in the laws that should protect them and it’s just so wrong.
Pedophiles should be shot.
For this reason only, is the only time I’d get a gun and load.
+1. Genocide.
this.
My heart breaks if I think how much Anna has suffered, knowing her own mother never believed her. And now she’s allowing that pedophile near her three other daughters.. no way, someone has to stop it. It’s like June cares more about her lovers than her family, despite what she says.
If I’m not wrong one of June’s other daughter, Pumpink maybe, has defended her mother and this pedophile. I wonder if now Anna is isolated from the family for what she said.. good thing she doesn’t live with them anymore.
I feel for these children. Having children does not make you a good person, my mother looked me dead in my eyes and told me that she didn’t believe me when I told her I had been sexually abused.
I am very sorry for this girl I wish her the best.
And I have a theory about this “comeback” of June ex: he sees her as a cashcow. She has just bought him a car and a house if I’ve understood.
I hope she will not run out of the money she was saving for her children, but at this point I don’t know.
You are on the money ( pun intended). June is a grifter who is being grifted by an even bigger, lower-life grifter. Sickening.
I can’t even begin to wrap my head around this. If anyone ever harmed my child in any way, well…good luck finding the body (I’m being hyperbolic, of course, but it still wouldn’t be pretty). My heart breaks for Anna. That’s a kind of betrayal that no one should ever have to experience. June can say “it’ll all come out” as much as she wants, but there’s no justification for this no matter how she tries to spin it. Such a sad and horrible situation.
I thought it was a different child (though still related to June) that the actual conviction was for; my understanding was Anna’s abuse was unreported. Just a factual correction / question…
I’ve heard conflicting stories
I think Anna’s was reported but charges either not filed or dropped before prosecution.
IIRC he spent 10 years in prison for molesting another little girl.
When the story first broke it was said that the person he molested was related to June then Anna came forward and said it was her. Chages were filled but later dropped and he went on to molest another child which he got 10 years for.
McDaniel was convicted for raping a little eight year old boy. Like many of his ilk, he doesn’t care about the gender as long as the victim is a certain age. How June thinks he has any interest in her besides taking advantage of nine year old Alana is beyond me.
This is absolutely terrible. I feel for this girl… I hope she regains her strength and raises her daughter better than Mama June has been.
My heart goes out to Anna, and those of you on here who have shared your own stories. You are all so brave and so strong. And Kaitlyn is such a beautiful child. Some people have questioned whether June is a victim of abuse as well, and it may be so, but it looks like she at least had a mother who cared. And Anna herself is proof that an abused child can grow up to be a strong and protective and loving mother. June has NO EXCUSE. I admire how Anna is looking out for her sisters when her own mother won’t. Being taken out of that house would be the best thing for them. Hopefully someone, the grandma maybe, can take them so they will all be kept together.
If he really wanted to apologize, he should have sent a letter and stayed away. He wants the money that June now has and the grandmother is right, Alana is his target age. He is likely grooming her already. Sick and twisted. Is it wrong of me to want everyone to spit on June wherever she goes until she is forced to get rid of this scumbag?
This makes me ill. June must be related to my mother. Poor, poor, pedophile. No thought for the victim. How can a mother be that callous towards her own blood? It’s beyond me.
It seems to get even worse. Anna lived with her grandmother for years (as we know now). But I saw a website report that June didn’t consistently pay child support to her mother to help defray the costs on Anna’s care and was often behind. How terrible that even when her daughter was a minor and had to be removed from the home, June couldn’t be bothered to care for her. June seems to have never given a crap about Anna, so this isn’t new for her.
I’m so hurt for her. I hope she knows how many out there support her.
I read on RO that:
Grandma Hale is June’s mother. June abandoned Anna at Hale’s home because June wanted to move in with her boyfriend at his trailer. Then CPS stepped in and gave Hale primary custody. Hale let Anna visit June (who seemed to be living with McDaniel at the time) and that’s when the molestation started. When Anna told her teacher what McDaniel was doing, he was labeled as the ‘stepfather.’ Anna lived with her grandmother until the TLC show started when June enticed her with a promise of $500/month to move in with them so as to appear to be one big family in front of the cameras.
RO also said that Uncle Poodle said he has evidence that June paid for the hotel room in which she, McDaniel, and their friends partied in and in which the photo was taken of June and McDaniel in bed together. Iirc, he knows of evidence that though it may not be in her name June rented a car for McDaniel.
I just read on TMZ that Sugar Bear hasn’t got any money yet from TLC for the latest season that they’re refusing to air and that June had been keeping his money from previous seasons and only gave him an allowance during that time. This may be why SB is homeless now after June allegedly kicked him out to get McDaniel back into her life and why SB can’t afford a lawyer and show CPS that he has a stable life and money to support custody of Alana.
On TMZ Live, the hosts were saying that maybe the reason why SB is hanging around June and Alana is because he knows he can’t afford to sue June for custody and that his next best option is to be in their presence so that he can keep McDaniel away from Alana and monitor his daughter to see if she was harmed. Being in June’s company is something he has to suck up and tolerate because that’s the only thing he can do now to protect his daughter.
I’ve been wondering about the grandmother in all of this. It sounds like Anna was lucky to have Sandra in her life, and Sandra really helped raise an incredibly strong young lady.
It’s also interesting that Anna is a normal weight – I couldn’t work that out, given June and the younger three are all obese, with June morbidly so. Then I saw a photo of the grandmother who raised Anna, and she’s a normal weight. So is Anna. And the grandmother seems to have normal instincts, too. She messed up badly with June, but she seems to have done well with Anna. Can’t help hoping the younger three end up with her, too. I sadly doubt June would be that bothered, if the alternative was losing the man. And I would suspect the money made courtesy of TLC would be enough to hold him there while it lasted.
All the kids should be taken away from this worthless, money hungry, fame seeking, failure of a mother, June! How disgustingly sick SHE is and the disgustingly sick man she wants to be around now! Hopefully this whole case will be reviewed by CPS and action taken to remove the kids from this vile person!
Anna’s very brave to speak out like this. I hope more appropriate custody arrangements are made for the underage children.
Anna, I am so, so proud of you. My heart, my soul, my thoughts,my prayers, my entire BEING goes out to you. I wish so much that I could slap your mother and tell her to get her crap together. You deserve better, but sadly, our kids don’t always get what they deserve. You know what you have to do, speak out, don’t let this molester slink away unnoticed. Everyone needs to be on alert and alarmed. And you, protect your beautiful baby in the way that your mother chose not to.
*edited to add
I watched the interview and bawled. The interviewer trying to comfort Anna and saying, “It’s ok. It’s ok, it’s ok.” You know what? It’s not. None of this is ok. That’s the most disgusting part of it all. She can choose to grow and move on, but it will never be ok, and it will always have happened. Sorry if my thoughts aren’t coherent, my heart aches for my daughter and how she will hurt one day.
i believe she meant is is ok for Anna to cry which is generally an embarrasssing social mistake.
I can understand that. I think it’s just a general placating response. But it’s one I’ve heard too many times, so it rubs me the wrong way. Just my own personal issues, fwiw.
I keep trying to find words strong enough to express my feelings but I can’t. It’s just incomprehensible to me that a person could value her relationship with a child molester over a relationship with the daughter he hurt so badly. It’s the worst kind of betrayal. She deserves every bit of censure she gets and I hope her other kids get taken away from her before he has a chance to do permanent harm to them as well.
I love this young lady and her grandmother. Mama June is a moron. I hope the media keeps a camera in this woman’s face until Honey Booboo is 18 years old. That is all.
ChiMos are the most reprehensible creatures on this earth.
I believe in the death penalty.
TLC is partially responsible for this debacle. They knew about June’s history and put her on TV anyway.
The only way that TLC could possibly rectify this situation is if the network agreed to give SugarBear a home/apartment to live in for free until he gets back on his feet and pay for his family lawyer. Alana needs to be removed from that home immediately.
How is TLC partially responsible? The only thing they did was make her famouse they weren’t around when this happened.
Sadly, as I said before, this didn’t happen because of the show. The same thing would have happened anyway, only no one would have known about it. Unless it’s because of the show money that the POS is hanging around again, which is possible.
I’m getting pretty tired of these networks not vetting their reality stars. First, it was the Duck Dynasty folks, then it was that gun show patriarch, now this bunch.
My heart is just breaking for Anna. She is a very brave woman to put this all out there.
Anna is the reason Alana might be safe in the end. Anna is screaming her truth from the rooftops. She won’t be silenced. This is the bravest thing I have seen in a while. She’s going to keep shouting and keep shining her light at the problem until she’ s sure that little girl is safe.
It’s so strange to find someone acting genuinely heroic in an awful situation like this. Anna has to be going through hell right now.
She’s an admirable and beautiful young woman.
June is 33 and has a daughter who is 20? I thought she was around 40-45…Maybe she was sexually abused too as a child (and got pregnant), and believes that this is normal?
I don’t know what to think of this woman,she is disgusting.
My eyes just about popped out of my head! June is 33?!?!?!?
In the Daily Mail article June is described as a 33-year-old grandmother !! WTF!
She’s 35, born on August 10, 1979. So she was 15 when Anna was born which is still way too young.
I understand the outrage but not the surprise. I’ve always known that June was a very sick woman. It was obvious.
This is horrific beyond words. I still believe TLC investigated them, knew the truth, but figured the POS was in jail and out of the picture so what the heck. Shame on them for bowing down to corporate greed. The only glimmer of positivity to come out of this is that because of their fame, maybe Pumpkin and Alana will be spared what happened to Anna if only because of public outrage and the big lens of the paparazzi. But what scares me is what may happen behind closed doors once the media storm settles down and the public moves on to the next hot story.
Wow. All of this is just too sad for words. The father of Honey Boo Boo needs to pack her bags and take her with him until June comes to her senses. There is just no excuse for this kind of behavior ever.
I feel so gross about this entire story and situation. It’s not unlike how I felt learning what a bunch of bigots those Duck Dynasty jerks are. Yet, people of low character or with clear mental health issues become OUR entertainment, and cash right in and make a fortune.
Maybe it’s time to stop this reality show junk?
There must be more to the story about why Anna was left with the grandmother originally. June was very young when she gave birth to Anna, young enough to ordinarily be living with her mom. Being raised by grandma seems to have been a good thing for Anna, but there may be some other oddities about the relationship between June and her mother.
The major problem is that June doesn’t believe Anna, despite the fact that the guy went on to be actually convicted for molesting another child (sounds like corroborating evidence to me). It’s unfortunate that there wasn’t enough evidence for the grand journey to continue with charges in Anna’s case, although obviously they did have the evidence for the other child. It would seem that convincing June would be an important thing to do, rather than just assuming she’s evil.
The fact that June’s mother believed Anna might actually be part of her block, if their relationship is as antagonistic as I suspect. Also it sounds as though she didn’t know Anna as well as her later children since she didn’t raise Anna. I wonder if she would have believed the younger ones?
June is not stupid and has a lot of good qualities, but her relationships with men do seem to be on the stupid side, to say the least – Sugar Bear was an exception, he seemed nice to her and all the kids. June seems unable to get past the fact that a child’s accusation, which June did not believe, interfered with her relationship with McDaniel in the first place. Meanwhile, McDaniel is now highly attracted to the smell of money. Maybe all the publicity and the CPS investigation will at least keep McDaniel away from the other kids, especially the youngest. But the only hope for reconciliation between Anna and her mother is if June finally really believes Anna. If suspicions are correct that June may have been molested as a child also- she will have to deal with that as well.
Sugar Bear was apparently convicted for setting someone on fire in the course of a robbery. He’s not exactly ideal father material, either. Horrible when that’s the best father figure kids can hope for.
“June is not stupid and has a lot of good qualities”
While I agree that she is not that stupid, I’m not exactly sure what her good qualities are.
I think failing to protect a child from a paedophile, in circumstances where a parent, guardian or teacher could reasonably be expected to do so, should be a crime. Mandatory reporting of abuse, and mandatory removal of that child and any others you have responsibility for from all contact with the predator.
I appreciate there are cases where extreme domestic violence impacts a person’s ability to protect themselves and their child (ren), and that could be offered as a defence, because it affects mental health in such a way someone’s grip on what is safe or sane is damaged, and they literally aren’t responsible for their own choices in any meaningful way. But in lots of cases, women just don’t want to lose the man, and will allow their kids to be the price. And this woman is, it seems, placidly offering her younger kids up on a platter after failing to protect her 8 year old, 12 years ago… and none of her behaviour is criminal. It should be. She’s enabling a paedophile, and with her own kids, at that.
Then again, she exploited Alana for $$$$ every which way, from all that’s written here. She doesn’t seem to think of any needs but her own.
Why in the world was this family EVER on TV? What about the accountability of the network?
June, an emotionally abusive mother at best, wants her child to come back to the house of horror so Anna can be on the show? And no one knew about the abuse? WTF?
The grandma obviously saved Anna’s life. And for all we know, Grandma did the best she could with June. It does NOT mean the grandma was a bad mother just because June is.
This show has caused more trauma for this girl. I think the network is also accountable. They are making money off of child abuse and this is unacceptable and disgusting.
Anyone notice that monster June is only 34? also, didn’t Toddlers and Tiaras pay for the pageant fees? I mean, the Honey Boo Boo crap show was a spin off of that show.
Also, if in 2012 Anna’s ex- boyfriend was talking about the molestation, sounds as if Anna has always had this very present in her mind. I wonder why no one picked-up on it?
Still SMH at this story. That poor girl.
Not surprised. Yet another case of victim blaming. When will it end?
Unfortunately victim blaming is extremely common, and it isn’t just a “white trash” thing or specific to any class. Look at Mackenzie Phillips, she got told the exact same “why are you doing this to us?” line when she tried to tell other family members about her dad raping and drugging her.
June is, very simply, a nasty and selfish POS who cares more about herself than anyone else, including her kids. I don’t watch TV, but when I saw things about her, I looked at some Youtube clips and her selfishness and bitchiness shown through. I don’t like being nasty about people’s looks, but it’s very clear that she’s an obese and unattractive person who wants any attention she can get, and saw Alana as a meal ticket for a long time. She thinks she’s charming and thought for a while money would come in based on Alana’s perceived cuteness. What she cares about is getting back together with the child molester, whom she will tell herself is sorry for what he did or (more likely) never really did it. Between this, neglectful and abusive Octomom and straight up child abuser Kate Gosselin, the ones who are giving out these reality shows really need to look at who they are handing money and fame to. Any digging into June’s background would reveal a person who chooses criminals to be with and bring children into the world with; someone who brings people into this world and then leaves them to raise themselves, exposed to the criminals she hangs out with and uses them for money.
This interview shows Anna is more of a woman that her mom will ever be. It takes a lot of bravery and maturity to openly adress all of this. Any decent mom would be incredibly proud of having such a brave and mature daughter. I hope that disgusting pervert and that sorry excuse of a mother get what they deserve.
Sadly, a person staying with her partner who abused her children is much more common than one might think. It happened to me. My mother stayed with the man who raped me and my sisters. It’s disgusting.
I’m so sorry this has happened to you and your sisters! Stay strong. *hugs*
I don’t even know you, but I love you Anna. We believe you. Stay strong.