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.
My mom has done the sit in car while waiting for the bus to come thing before and its super annoying. Mind you the bus stop was like 60m away from the house. It actually took longer to drive because of the time it took to take the car out of the garage and get in but my mother insisted. For the past three years I have just stopped listening to my parents and just leave the house without saying anything. Its to ask for forgiveness than permission. I have been biking to neigboring cities and they don’t even realize I left. I have also been able to force them to let me bike to school because I have work right after my morning classes and biking is the fastest way to get to work.