Teen held in Oakland County detention center for not doing homework denied release

FOX 2 - A judge has denied the immediate release of the 15-year-old in Children’s Village for violations of probation including not doing her homework. Instead, a hearing for this Monday at 10 a.m., reports Charlie Langton.

ProPublica first reported Tuesday that the 15-year-old from Beverly Hills attends Groves High School in Birmingham and had her probation revoked by a judge in May after repeated violations of her probation.

In Judge Mary Ellen Brennan said the teen is currently receiving mental help and did not want to interrupt that.

"(Redacted) is currently receving mental health treatment in her placement. It is not in her best interest to interrupt her mental health treatment before receiving a report regarding her progress," Brennan wrote in her decision.

Brennan's husband attorney Ed Lennon said that not doing her homework is not the only reason for the teen to be at Children's Village. Lennon claimed the girl has assaulted her mother in the past among her probation violations.

"She committed multiple assaults on her mother," he said. "And one of the choices my wife had to make is, was she going to send her back to the home while there was a stay at home order in place, so that those two people could be in the same house and her mother may potentially be subjected to more assaults by her daughter."

On Thursday protesters gathered outside Groves to demand something be done to get the teenager more fair treatment, while some state politicians have also taken notice. One of the arguments some people have made, is that Judge Brennan  is white and the teen, black.

The judge's husband, attorney Ed Lennon, said race is not a factor.

A petition online for her release has garnered thousands of signatures and lawmakers from the county level on up are jumping on board to call for a review of the case.

"If this were a white girl living in a big house in Birmingham, this would not have happened," Ruth Rothenberg said. "This girl should have never put in Children's Village, this is absolutely outrageous. Most of the children who had to move to online learning struggled with it, let alone a child with a diagnosis of ADHD. It's absolutely unbelievable."

Judge Brennan