There's no question that bullying in schools these days has reached an all-time high and that now more than ever, parents are going to extreme lengths to protect their kids. But how far is too far? I would say 42-year-old dad, Philip Prokop, DEFINITELY went overboard when he allegedly paid a teenager $21 to attack a 13-year-old kid who he suspected was bullying his daughter.
Prokop's daughter says she was constantly harassed by other kids at school who would grab her stomach or try to trip her in the hallways. Finally, Prokop decided to take action, approaching the teens at a local diner to ask them to stop the bullying.
Read more ¿Qué más?: How far would you go to defend your daughter from a bully?
"I introduced myself and who I was and who my daughter was and I told them to stop bullying my daughter," Prokop told the Today show. "And the next thing there was a girl on the ground. The girl that bullied my daughter was on top of that girl beating her face in." Though the father denies the police claims that he paid anyone to incite the attack, he was arrested and charged with inciting injury to a person, risk of injury to a minor, and conspiracy to commit a third-degrees assault. He was released on a $10,000 bond and will have to go to court.
OK, I can understand wanting to do whatever possible to protect your kids. I know that it's hard as a parent watching your child struggle, particularly for fathers who tend to be super over protective of their daughters! I'm 22 and my dad still wants to go after anyone who even slightly upsets me.
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However, that's definitely not an excuse for provoking violence, especially among teenagers! If he really did engineer the attack, he not only stooped to the low level of the bullies, but he also set a terrible example for his daughter! I hope, for his kid's sake, that Prokup is telling the truth and didn't actually do what the police allege he did. Either way, I think he should have a discussion with his daughter to make sure she knows the right way to handle a situation like that in the future.
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Image via NBC
