An 11-year-old girl has been arrested and charged with a felony after falsely reporting that her friend had been kidnapped when she was inspired by an online challenge.
My issue is not so much that she was taken to juvie. That's a solid lesson in not make false crimes with really no impact at this age. My issue is that she's still there. Where are the parents? Why can't she be released. A little scare is one thing, but I don't think an 11 year old should really be held all the way until trial for a misdemeanor that was dumb and not malicious.
I agree with your overall points but wanted to call out that she got hit with a felony and a misdemeanor.
I don't really know the ins-and-outs of the legal system, but I really hope that felony charge gets reduced or, at a minimum, doesn't follow her around into adulthood. Would be a shame for her record to be marred like that long-term for a misguided prank pulled when she was 11.
Your issue is that she's still there? The article implies that this only happened yesterday, so she's only been there for 1 day. That's not unreasonable for a felony.
One day could be more than enough to traumatize a kid. She's 11 and she played a very stupid prank likely because she didn't understand the consequences due to being 11 years old. She doesn't need to be put with 16-year-old violent offenders. Not even for a day.
My daughter is a very well-behaved kid, but she also has terrible anxiety. If, by some similar incident that she didn't realize was so serious, she ended up in juvie for a day, she would end up with PTSD.
I understand what you're saying completely. I'm not even saying that I disagree with you - to be honest, I'm not quite sure what to think about this circumstance.
However, I will say that there are limits to being lax on someone just because they are a child. This was a serious offense that could have cost multiple people their lives and a serious response is justifiably warranted.
Yeah. She's 11 and didn't commit a violent crime. I expect she would be taken into custody, paperwork filed and then released into her parent's care. That's normally how it works for non-violent offenses especially for first time offenders.
If we were talking about shoplifting, sure. This case is more serious, however, and I'm not sure the same approach would be taken under the circumstances.
I see some value in it. Don't keep her overnight or cause permanent damage to her life, but these kids are for sure a little out of control and unparented.
Eh, I doubt it's because she's "out of control and unparented". According to the article she was at home with her parents when she decided to copy a prank she saw in a youtube video. The whole incident played out in under 90 minutes, even the best parent can't (and shouldn't) watch their kid 100% of the time. Kids have poor impulse control and do dumb shit. Give her a stern talking to and a slap on the wrist, and call it a day.