North Carolina mother spends week in jail after baptizing daughter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A judge sentenced a Charlotte mother to seven days in jail for getting her daughter baptized.

The court case goes back a couple of years to when Kendra Stocks and Paul Schaaf were in a custody battle over their daughter. According to court documents, the two could never agree on religion.

Court records said Schaaf is a practicing Catholic who attends Mass every week, and that ultimately, the court granted him final decision-making authority on all legal custody decisions, including decisions concerning religion.

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Both parents were warned that they could go to jail if they ignored the warning. But the next day, Stocks went out and baptized her daughter, according to court documents.

Schaaf found out about the baptism on Facebook, documents showed.

The court documents stated that "the mother has acted selfishly by depriving father of the ability to be present at an event that was extraordinarily important to him."

The judge found Stocks in contempt of court and sentenced her to seven days in jail. She will report to jail on Friday.

In contempt cases, a judge can order someone detained if they believe someone is improperly challenging or ignoring the court's authority. Violators can be fined, jailed or both.

Channel 9 tried to talk to Judge Sean Smith about his ruling, but was told that because the child is under 18, it's still a pending case and he can't comment.

Cox Media Group