daughter ran away (14) with a 19 year old

[mamashann]

What is the name of your state? CA
My 14 year old daughter has run away and we believe she is with a 19 year old male. My daughter has emotional and behavioral disorders and takes medication. I believe he is providing her with (illegal) drugs and may be sexually involved with her. We know where he works. I am thinking of filing a complaint of harboring a run away (citation unknown), contributing to the delinquency of a minor (Penal Code 272), encouraging her to run away (Penal Code 278), unlawful sexual intercourse with a person under 18 (Cal Penal Code § 261.5), willfully causing or permitting the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered (citation unknown), report any child who is suffering serious emotional damage or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage (Penal Code 273a).

Can you please let me know if you think these complaints would be founded and if the local agency would have to act? Act meaning charge or investigate the accused. Also would such agency be required to retrieve my daughter from his possession if she is harbored within? Also one other thing, can you please tell me the location of the unknown citation above?
Thank you,
A concerned mother
Yes-we have parental rights/custody we are the guardians and birth parents. Yes a run away report has been filed. Yes her mental condition is medically documented. Yes her drug and alcohol use is also medically documented. We are trying to retrieve her to have her placed in a residential treatment center for her health and well being. And to prevent injury or suffering to her. Especially inflicted by older men exploiting her mental and emotional state.

 

[CdwJava]

Since you've made the runaway report, that's all you can do at this point. Any other crimes have to be borne out by evidence. Unless there is proof that he is harboring her or otherwise contributing to her delinquent status, this cannot be charged.

When she comes home, maybe she'll talk to the cops. If you know where he stays, maybe you can call the cops where he lives. There are options, but you cannot "file" charges for which there is no proof. Proof is presented to the police, they forward the reports to the DA, and the DA decides if there is enough to proceed with.

- Carl

 

[mamashann]

respectfully disagree

Thank you for the response Carl. I notice you are a senior member but that does not indicate to me if you have any legal background. I disagree with your statement that we cannot file a charge. The CA and federal law is very clear about child abuse, neglect and endangerment.
Penal Code Section 11164.
(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.
(b) The intent and purpose of this article is to protect children from abuse and neglect.
In any investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect, all persons participating in the investigation of the case shall consider the needs of the child victim and shall do whatever is necessary to prevent psychological harm to the child victim.

Penal Code Section 11165.
As used in this article “child” means a person under the age of 18 years.

Any mandated reporter may report any child who is suffering serious emotional damage or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage. (P.C. 11166.05)

Penal Code Section 11165.3 willfully causes or permits the
person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered.

there are criminal penalties for consensual sexual activity with a minor who is under 18 years of age.See, e.g. Cal.Penal Code § 261.5

kidnapping -Penal Code Section 207

11165.9. Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect shall be made by mandated reporters to any police department or sheriff's department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.

11165.14. The appropriate local law enforcement agency shall investigate a child abuse complaint filed by a parent or guardian of a pupil with a school or an agency specified in Section 11165.9 against a school employee or other person that commits an act of child abuse, as defined in this article, against a pupil at a schoolsite and shall transmit a substantiated report, as defined in Section 11165.12, of that investigation to the governing board of the appropriate school district or county office of education. A substantiated report received by a governing board of a school district or county office of education shall be subject to the provisions of Section 44031 of the Education Code.

It seems to me that your post implies that they cannot take a complaint unless there is proof. As noted above, they must investigate. Her mental well being is in jeopardy as well as she is being kept from her parents. No child abuse is or has occurred in the home-therefore, he could be considered the abuser. He is exploiting and using my child, coercing her into delinquent behavior, harboring her, encouraging her to run away, etc, etc.

Yes I understand you might be saying it is only an accusation at this point but you must not be of any legal background because all charges/complaints are JUST that until the person is proven guilty. They have to investigate according to the law. I mean what if I went to the Police or CPS and said/claimed "this man is using my daughter for prostituion." You think they would say...give us proof then we we will look into it????

Basically I understand the rights granted/allowed so my post is mute unless an attorney will actually reply.

Thanks,
A concerned mother.

 

[Just Blue]

Thank you for the response Carl. I notice you are a senior member but that does not indicate to me if you have any legal background. I disagree with your statement that we cannot file a charge. The CA and federal law is very clear about child abuse, neglect and endangerment.
Penal Code Section 11164.
(a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act.
(b) The intent and purpose of this article is to protect children from abuse and neglect.
In any investigation of suspected child abuse or neglect, all persons participating in the investigation of the case shall consider the needs of the child victim and shall do whatever is necessary to prevent psychological harm to the child victim.

Penal Code Section 11165.
As used in this article “child” means a person under the age of 18 years.

Any mandated reporter may report any child who is suffering serious emotional damage or is at substantial risk of suffering serious emotional damage. (P.C. 11166.05)

Penal Code Section 11165.3 willfully causes or permits the
person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered.

there are criminal penalties for consensual sexual activity with a minor who is under 18 years of age.See, e.g. Cal.Penal Code § 261.5

kidnapping -Penal Code Section 207

11165.9. Reports of suspected child abuse or neglect shall be made by mandated reporters to any police department or sheriff's department, not including a school district police or security department, county probation department, if designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the county welfare department.

11165.14. The appropriate local law enforcement agency shall investigate a child abuse complaint filed by a parent or guardian of a pupil with a school or an agency specified in Section 11165.9 against a school employee or other person that commits an act of child abuse, as defined in this article, against a pupil at a schoolsite and shall transmit a substantiated report, as defined in Section 11165.12, of that investigation to the governing board of the appropriate school district or county office of education. A substantiated report received by a governing board of a school district or county office of education shall be subject to the provisions of Section 44031 of the Education Code.

It seems to me that your post implies that they cannot take a complaint unless there is proof. As noted above, they must investigate. Her mental well being is in jeopardy as well as she is being kept from her parents. No child abuse is or has occurred in the home-therefore, he could be considered the abuser. He is exploiting and using my child, coercing her into delinquent behavior, harboring her, encouraging her to run away, etc, etc.

Yes I understand you might be saying it is only an accusation at this point but you must not be of any legal background because all charges/complaints are JUST that until the person is proven guilty. They have to investigate according to the law. I mean what if I went to the Police or CPS and said/claimed "this man is using my daughter for prostituion." You think they would say...give us proof then we we will look into it????

Basically I understand the rights granted/allowed so my post is mute unless an attorney will actually reply.

Thanks,
A concerned mother.

Carl is an Officer in the California Police Department. Please reread his response to you...

 

[mamashann]

Carl is an Officer in the California Police Department. Please reread his response to you...

Yes but unfortunately telling concerned parents that "maybe she will talk to the police" "when she comes home" is not very helpful advice. I mean that is ASSUMING she comes home (ALIVE). I don't know if you know the expression about assumptions...
While she is being encouraged to be away from the home doing who knows what. And she is in danger while she is not in a supervised caring environment. As I indicated she has a mental, mood and conduct disorder. Her actions are not reasonable or normal. She puts herself in dangerous and risky situations that we as parents prohibit. Yet while she is whit this grown man, she is under no care, no supervision...etc do I have to go on?

None the less, advocates or concerned parents have a different view of run aways I would guess than a cop supervisor.
MY MAIN question in my post was WOULD THEY HAVE TO INVESTIGATE THE CHARGE??? (Caps for emphasis) Basically the reply form Carl was -no, unless there was proof.
Which I still respectfully disagree with. Law states they do have to investigate a complaint from a parent or guardian.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but someone working in law enforcement should also know the law.
Once again my post is mute-I have found the answer.

 

[mommyof4]

You have no authority to file charges. You do have the right to contact the police to make a report (which you have done). Once your daughter is found, if there is any evidence of any other crime, then the police will handle it and send on their report to the DA who will decide whether or not there is enough to warrant pressing charges/prosecution.

You're main priority at this point is finding your daughter. Concentrate on that.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

You need to find your daughter first. Worry about charges later.

Do you want suggestions on getting your daughter back or are just concerned about criminal charges against someone you alledge is harboring your daughter?

 

[sjmjuly]

You have no authority to file charges. You do have the right to contact the police to make a report (which you have done). Once your daughter is found, if there is any evidence of any other crime, then the police will handle it and send on their report to the DA who will decide whether or not there is enough to warrant pressing charges/prosecution.

You're main priority at this point is finding your daughter. Concentrate on that.

I totally agree with this post. Worry about your daughter first - The worry about the other issue. And unless you are the police dept, judge, jury & trial, YOU do not file the charges. YOU as a parent make the report/complaint and let the police dept do their job. If they find reason to charge this man who may be with your daughter, then so be it.

 

[CdwJava]

I notice you are a senior member but that does not indicate to me if you have any legal background.

Well, I do.

I disagree with your statement that we cannot file a charge. The CA and federal law is very clear about child abuse, neglect and endangerment.

Disagree all you want. You have a right to make a report to the police, but the filing of charges is SOLELY at the discretion of the District Attorney with the only practical exception being through the Grand Jury - an avenue almost never taken.

there are criminal penalties for consensual sexual activity with a minor who is under 18 years of age.See, e.g. Cal.Penal Code § 261.5

However, there needs to be PROOF. What you and I might believe is occurring does NOT make it an accusation we can prove in court.

I supervise my department's investigative unit, and prior to being a supervisor I was a juvenile crimes investigator ... I KNOW how these things are done.

kidnapping -Penal Code Section 207

I did not read in your initial post where she was taken against her will. If she left voluntarily, 207 does not apply.

It seems to me that your post implies that they cannot take a complaint unless there is proof.

Nope. That is NOT what I wrote. I wrote that YOU could not FILE charges. And, you cannot.

Plus, you have no control over the specifics of the investigation, nor can YOU decide what charges are forwarded to the DA. The DA, upon reading any report they might receive, will then decide if any charges should be filed and if those charges can be supported by evidence to show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

I can see a relatively easy 272 case IF it can be shown that they were together, but the others are pure speculation. At this point, even their being together is pure speculation is it not?

They have to investigate according to the law. I mean what if I went to the Police or CPS and said/claimed "this man is using my daughter for prostituion." You think they would say...give us proof then we we will look into it????

Again, you have no say over HOW they run the investigation. With only your belief,m they have little to go on. They can make consensual contacts, they can run records checks, and do a few other things, but they can't go arrest him or get a search warrant based on nothing. Sorry, but you have no real proof of anything. That is not to say that the police can't turn up something, but how extensively they will look into the matter is a matter of resources.

To be honest, most agencies do not have the resources to go blindly hunting for a voluntary missing teen and making a case against her boyfriend. Usually, the investigation will begin when the missing juvenile turns up or is located. Very often she then LIES about where she was or who she was with. Sometimes a case can be made, sometimes it cannot. Each case is different. My detectives are currently working three cases just like this ... we only know where one of the minors is, and the one we HAVE found is denying ANY sexual activity with her boyfriend and denying they were together. So far, we have found no one that can even PUT them together after he was advised she was a runaway ... kinda makes it tough to take him to trial. I believe they had sex, and I believe he hid her at his parents' house while they were away ... but what I believe, and $3.65 gets me a venti mocha at Starbuck's.

For the most part, the best resources end up being applied to the child runaway - probation (which has jurisdiction over out of control juveniles per the W&I), social services (counseling, CPS, etc.), and mental health.

IF the police can make a case, they will. But these are not always that easy to make beyond the PC 272.

- Carl