College student gets stalking-protection order against parents

December 29, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

The day after the Fourth of July last year, Julie Ireland posted a notice on the web page of her Greenbrier neighborhood in Leawood, Kan., sharing the latest news about her daughter, Aubrey.

“Hello Neighbor! One of Greenbrier’s own, my daughter Aubrey, is on stage this summer at Crown Center,” Julie Ireland wrote of her daughter’s role in “Evita.”

The role that 21-year-old Aubrey Ireland took earlier this month, however, is not such proud parental fodder for a newsletter.

In an unusual case, the senior studying music theater at the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music won a stalking protection order against her mother, Julie, and father, David Ireland.

Aubrey convinced a Cincinnati judge that her parents have been harassing her. Among her complaints: that they often drove to the school, unannounced, and have accused her wrongly of promiscuity, using illegal drugs and suffering from mental problems.

The Kansas City Star attempted to reach Aubrey and her parents Thursday. Calls and emails were not returned.

The Irelands reportedly admitted in court that they installed monitoring software on their daughter’s laptop and cellphone, which Aubrey likened to being like “a dog with a collar on.”

“It’s just been really embarrassing and upsetting to have my parents come to my university when I’m a grown adult and just basically slander my name and follow me around,” Aubrey said in an Oct. 9 court hearing, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

She told the court that she asked her parents to stop. The Irelands reportedly also told her college administrators they could take her to court for mental evaluations. David Ireland was particularly worried for his daughter “because of my family history of mental health,” noting cousins who had committed suicide, he said in court documents.

According to the Enquirer, the Irelands insisted in court that they were looking out for their only daughter’s best interests, trying to keep her from ruining her chance at success with what they considered risky behaviors.

A judge in Cincinnati ruled Dec. 10 that because Aubrey Ireland is an adult, she is allowed to live her life as she chooses. David and Julie Ireland, the newspaper reported, must stay at least 500 feet away from their daughter and have no contact with her until at least Sept. 23, 2013.