Authorities have paid a visit to the home of a six-year-old boy who ran the 26-mile Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati with the rest of the family amidst allegations revolving around alleged child abuse.
Ben and Kami Crawford, of Bellevue, Kentucky, reportedly indicated on Instagram that Child Protective Services arrived at their residence unannounced to conduct interviews with the household last Friday apparently as a result of complaints about their son Rainier’s participation in the event.
“This is a scary process because usually children are interrogated away from parents, against their will, and their answers determine the agency’s legal right to take away the kids,” the Crawfords wrote in a long post on their page which is called “Fight for Together.”
The district attorney for Campbell County, Ky., where Bellevue is located, reportedly confirmed that CPS had a one-hour sit-down at the home. The entire family of eight apparently ran the May 1 marathon together.
The Crawfords also explained that “Someone reported that we dragged Rainier after mile 13 and across the finish line, pulling him against his will. All 8 family members and eye witnesses (including police officers), and our hours of footage reveal a different story — That Rainier is a young human who was very determined to finish and was never dragged ONCE on the entire 26.2 mile course.”
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The couple also said that Rainier “adamantly decided that he wanted to run a marathon.”
In an Instagram video, the Crawfords (who also have a YouTube channel) implied that the allegations would be determined to be unsubstantiated but it could take a month or more for an official determination because of backlogged government resources in the county.
Ben Crawford noted that the entire family held hands as they crossed the finish line.
It apparently took the youngster eight hours and 35 minutes, however, to complete the mile course.
“The Crawfords said they had asked Rainier ‘numerous times if he wanted to stop and he was VERY clear that his preference was to continue,'” the New York Post added. “In an Instagram Story, a user stated that ‘Campbell County CPS’ had been notified, to which the Crawfords replied, ‘CPS has investigated us for doing much crazier things and deemed us safe parents for our kids.” The parents faced additional backlash after they posted an Instagram photo of their son holding stacks of Pringles chips, sharing that the boy was ‘struggling physically’ during the marathon.”
In perhaps an example of oversharing, the controversy was apparently prompted when the Crawfords posted in that message on Instagram referenced above that Rainier was crying because the aid stations along the way ran out of chips.
Commenting on the situation, Olympic runner Kara Goucher asserted that “I don’t know who needs to hear this but a six year old cannot fathom what a marathon will do to them physically. A six year old does not understand what embracing misery is. A six year who is ‘struggling physically’ does not realize they have the right to stop and should.”
I don't know who needs to hear this but a six year old cannot fathom what a marathon will do to them physically. A six year old does not understand what embracing misery is. A six year who is "struggling physically" does not realize they have the right to stop and should.
— Kara Goucher (@karagoucher) May 4, 2022
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In a nearly 25-minute video (*warning for language), which you can review and draw your own conclusions, the Crawfords insisted that the accusations that emerged via social media are unfounded.
“People read into it, they take a snippet, and they say ‘he got a kid to run a marathon for Pringles for a can of Pringles’…I’m not Gandalf,” Ben Crawford said.
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Watch a report on this controversy aired by ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
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Robert Jonathan is a staff writer for BizPac Review. He is a longtime writer/editor for news aggregation websites and has also developed content in the legal and financial publishing sectors as well as for online education. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law, “a law school the basketball teams can be proud of.”
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