DeKalb County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Cindi Cook
ATLANTA -- A Hall County mother was sentenced to a year in jail after taking desperate measures to keep her son's teenage girlfriend from having his baby.Officials said Cindi Cook, 44, found the Northside Women's Clinic for a 16-year-old girl. Cook paid for the abortion and signed a parental notification form saying she was the girl's mother."This is reprehensible conduct and it will not be tolerated," said DeKalb County Solicitor General Robert James.
James told WSB-TV that he had never seen a case like the one involving Cook."It's terrible when one parent takes another parent's child to have an abortion," said James.Cook is serving a year in jail for pretending to be the mother of her son's 16-year-old girlfriend and for illegally signing for her to have an abortion. The girl's parents knew nothing about the procedure and are incensed at Cook and the clinic.Their attorney, S. Fenn Little, read a statement they prepared that said, "The actions of both Cindi Cook and the Northside Women's Clinic have affected our daughter with much pain."Testimony indicated Cook pressured the girl to have the abortion."Because it was going to interfere with his college plans," said Little.Officials said the teen then found a clinic that would perform the procedure without a parent present, which violates state law according to the solicitor general.The clinic told WSB it had no comment.James said they are still looking into possibly charging the clinic and the girl's family said they are considering legal action against the clinic as well.Cook was found guilty of interfering with custody and violating the parental notification law. She remains in the DeKalb County Jail.