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Charge Of Child Endangerment In City Sparks A Case That Bears Watching

An interesting police report earlier this week raises an interesting question — when is it appropriate to hold a parent responsible for the actions of their child?

A city woman was charged with endangering the welfare of a child after Jamestown Police said she hadn’t exercised reasonable due diligence in control of her child after the youth was found being disorderly outside Jamestown High School and allegedly been running around the downtown area causing issues for businesses throughout the day. Endangering the welfare of a child is a class A misdemeanor with penalties ranging from up to a year in jail or up to three years probation.

New York state does have a parental responsibility law as part of its General Obligations Law. It applies to children between the age of 10 and 18 and can include liability for property damage when a child willfully or maliciously damages property — but the parental obligation law uses civil court remedies. According to state court system documents, a person can be found guilty of endangering the welfare of a child by knowingly acting in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than 17 years old. Parents or guardians who are responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 can be convicted of child endangerment if they fail to exercise reasonable diligence controlling the child in order to prevent the child from becoming abused, neglected, a person in need of supervision, or a juvenile delinquent.

Still, it is pretty rare to see local police actually charge a parent with a criminal charge when their child engages in disorderly conduct as was described in the Jamestown Police Department report earlier this week. It’s impossible to know now whether or not the JPD’s charge will stick or not, but the case bears watching.

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