Absurd case

Son (11) went shopping alone – mother arrested

A bodycam video showed the arrest of 41-year-old mother Brittany Patterson.

(Bild: Fannin County Sheriffs Office)

A mother in the US state of Georgia is facing a prison sentence - because she let her eleven-year-old son go into town alone to do some shopping. The route was less than a kilometer long. The police picked up the boy and took him home - his mother Brittany Patterson is accused of reckless endangerment.

The case had already taken place on October 30. Patterson had taken one of her other children to the doctor. In the meantime, eleven-year-old Soren decided to stroll into town for a shopping trip. A harmless thing really - but the police felt that the child's welfare was endangered by this short walk alone.

A picture of Patterson and Soren: 

Mother: "It was a short walk"
A concerned citizen had seen the child and informed the authorities. The police went out and took Soren home. Five hours later, officers returned to the Patterson home to arrest the mother. The 41-year-old can't understand the reaction: "He knows how to get home. It was a short walk and I wasn't worried," she explained to US media.

For the police, the mother is said to have "willfully and knowingly endangered the physical safety of her minor son", as the arrest warrant states. Patterson's lawyer is also unable to understand the reasoning. "Our criminal justice system is based on the fact that someone did something or was negligent. What exactly did she do?" asks David DeLuga.

Mother should monitor son with GPS tracker
The police eventually offered to drop the charges against the mother. In return, she would have had to give assurances that she would equip her son with a GPS tracker. Patterson refused. She argues, "I couldn't sign that because I would have been acknowledging that my home or my parenting decisions were unsafe. And I just don't believe that."

The woman had to post bail to avoid having to remain in custody. She faces a one-year prison sentence if the public prosecutor's office does indeed bring charges of negligent behavior. However, the 41-year-old is convinced: "I didn't do anything wrong."