Summary
Brittany Patterson, 41, was shocked to face a criminal charge for alleged reckless conduct when her unsupervised 10-year-old son walked less than a mile from their home.
Although authorities offered to drop the charge if she agreed to always supervise her children, Patterson refuses to sign, insisting she did nothing wrong and will fight the charge, which could lead to up to a year in jail.
Her lawyer argues that parents should have discretion over their children’s whereabouts, questioning if constant GPS tracking is now expected. Patterson was released on $500 bail.
I think it’s all on the parent saying they didn’t know where the kid was, the kid saying his parents didn’t know where he was.
I wonder how my parents would have responded when I was little, “in the woods”? “Up the street at one of the neighbors”? Or “I don’t know”?