Prosecuting help for deliquent behavior

[sunaurora]

What is the name of your state? CA

My 15 year old stepson, ran away and we found him. We told him that we would prosecute the people he stayed with and helped him if he associated with them again. Last night he took off again. How do I go about prosecuting for contributing to the deliquency of a minor, harboring a runaway and kidnapping?

My son believes what his friends tell him, and thinks he can be emancipated, which he was told that he couldn't be by the CPS officer he called and made false reports with. He was under the impression due to these so called friends that by making a report they would let him be responsible for himself. CPS came out, never opened the case and when he called the second time told him to GO HOME.

He has been suspended from school, they no longer want him there now. He starts fights, told me that he was drinking, smoked pot, having sex and shoplifted. All with the assistance of his "friends".

I have a first name list of his friends and I want to charge them and their parents. Some of these kids are 18, and they are directing him to do what he wants to do.

I already filed a police report (#2) for running away, but this time I want it as kidnapping for the people he is staying with. I want to take this to the full extent of the law and need direction in doing that.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Was your son taken against his will? Or is he being prevented for returning or contacting you by these people? If not, where is the kidnapping? Going after the kids giving your son inaccurate advice and helping him out would only be like the gopher game at the carnival. Every time you hit one, another will pop up. Meanwhile, your son will feel more resentful and angry, thereby aggravating whatever situation has resulted in your son acting the way he has. I am not saying it is your fault for the way he feels--hormones, changing brain chemistry, and peer pressure contribute to that.

If he has run away and you know where he is, have the police pick him up. My nephew-in-law is at a similar point in life with legal problems, drugs, and bad influences. Unfortunately, his mother let him grow pot in his room and let 13 yr old girls spend the night (I only find out much later or I would have called the cops). He spent six month in a juvenile rehab home and a year in an alternative school / drug program.

Look into something like this for your son. It allowed my nephew to get clean, see what life is like in a controlled evironment free from whatever issues he has with day to day contact with his parents and inappropriate friends, and figure out the best part of life is after he becomes an adult and to not mess it up now. He now wants to go to college to study botany, so he can get a job in a greenhouse.

In other words, work on the relationship with your son. Give him the tools to stay clean and make the right choices.

Good Luck.

 

[stmfitr636]

Call your local police station and find out how to file for an Incorrigibility Hearing. He will be brought in to speak with a judge, put on an informal probation and if he continues to be incorrigible, will be placed into the Juvenile system. You probably have to qualify with attempted counseling or mediation, etc.

Or ship him off to finish school at a boarding school. A very expensive option but so is paying for his f-ups.

Considering that he is you skid... you will need 100% cooperation from his parent on this.

I think that you are trying to punish the wrong offender... going after his friends. He is the obvious villain here.

Stand by for Tylersmom to reprimand you for being a concerned parent. She still breast feeds her teens.

 

[fairisfair]

your direction for prosecuting to the full extent of the law is to STAY OUT OF IT. You said this is your STEPSON, you have no legal rights here. His PARENTS are the only ones with any rights to sue, send off to military school, call the police, file for incorrigible or any of the other variety of suggestions that you have received.

 

[CdwJava]

My 15 year old stepson, ran away and we found him.

Was he reported to the police as a runaway?

We told him that we would prosecute the people he stayed with and helped him if he associated with them again. Last night he took off again. How do I go about prosecuting for contributing to the deliquency of a minor, harboring a runaway and kidnapping?

You wouldn't. You would call the police, give them the information, and allow them to make the call. Ultimately the DA pursues charges if they can be proven.

I see possible contributing to the delinquency of a minor (a misdemeanor), but we have no real "harboring" statute that applies to runaways, and this would definitely NOT be kidnapping. There might be a couple of other lesser offenses that might apply as well - depending on the circumstances.

The people he stays with would also have to reasonably know that he is there against your will. This is not always a matter of common sense.

These are cases I used to pursue frequently in juvenile crimes. Bear in mind that the child is usually giving the people he runs to stay with a bull puckey story that makes his parents sound like the Marquis D' Sade. Usually we have to advise the other family to call the police when the child shows up or they will face criminal charges in the future.

He was under the impression due to these so called friends that by making a report they would let him be responsible for himself. CPS came out, never opened the case and when he called the second time told him to GO HOME.

Good for them! It sounds like he's being shut down.

He has been suspended from school, they no longer want him there now. He starts fights, told me that he was drinking, smoked pot, having sex and shoplifted. All with the assistance of his "friends".

It sounds like boot camp of some kind might be an option. Mom and dad are going to have to take some draconian "tough love" steps or he will end up in prison before he is 20.

I have a first name list of his friends and I want to charge them and their parents. Some of these kids are 18, and they are directing him to do what he wants to do.

Don't count on that ever happening. They are not twisting his arm to do what he is doing. Unless the boy is going to testify against these folks, or there is some independent evidence of specific acts, there will never be a prosecution.

Your ire is understandable and common. Unfortunately for you, there is very little real chance that the police will investigate his assocoiates very deeply without some serious evidence. A list of first names and a history of delinquency are not going to make a strong and compelling case for them to pursue. However, if the boy agrees to testify against these adults and his testimony can be corroborated, they might be able to make a case.

I already filed a police report (#2) for running away, but this time I want it as kidnapping for the people he is staying with. I want to take this to the full extent of the law and need direction in doing that.

It is NOT kidnapping under CA law. The only thing that fits is contributing to the delnquency of a minor - but that generally requires some affirmative act on the part of the suspects.


- Carl

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Fairisfair is right. But I'm sensitive to the fact one of his parents could have passed away and the surviving parent remarried, thus a step-parent. Whichever scenario accurately reflects your situation, the solution involves all the parents, step or otherwise. There are situations FairisFair pointed out where a step parent steps in between the rights of biological parent and child.