Parent Wants To Press Charges Against An 11-Year-Old Who Stole And Destroyed Their Son's Phone
AYO Production | Shutterstock It’s a big deal for a parent to trust their child with a phone. However, for many, that’s a crucial means of communication that adds an extra layer of safety and protection to their relationship. One single mom felt that way about the iPhone she gave to her son who was still in primary school.
Unfortunately, other kids don’t quite see the importance of a parent being able to communicate with their child, nor do they really understand the cost of things like smartphones. When her son’s phone was stolen, this mom felt like she needed to track it down. In the end, it had her questioning if she should press charges against an 11-year-old.
The mom went out of her way to find out where her son’s phone ended up after someone snatched it from his school bag.
In a post on Reddit, she explained, “So, about a week and a half ago, my son’s phone was taken from his bag at primary school. I managed to track it using Find My iPhone and it [led] me to a house.”
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The mom talked to her counterpart who lived at that house, who said her son and two friends were there a few minutes ago, but now playing at one of the friends’ houses. The mom went off in search of her son’s phone to the second house. Of course, once she got there, the three boys promised they were innocent.
“I get home and receive a call from the mum from the first house,” she continued. “She has checked the security cameras from her house and discovered the kid from the second house who swore that they have never had a phone is miraculously holding a phone in the footage. This has already been sent to the dad and next minute, I get a message from the guilty kid’s mum asking if she can come to my house.”
The mom whose son’s phone was stolen just wanted it back, but that apparently wasn’t possible.
“Her and her son arrive teary-eyed and apologetic,” she recounted. “I just ask for the phone back and she shakes her head saying that he has smashed and destroyed it. It was only an iPhone XE, so not expensive, but as a single mum working full-time [it] was my means of communication with my son.”
She and the other mom worked out a deal. While the other mom said she would gladly buy a new phone for her son, she just asked that she contribute $100 to a phone she would buy off of Facebook Marketplace. Everything seemed fine.
Unfortunately, it all fell apart. “It has been over a week now and she has now stopped replying to any messages and won’t answer any calls,” she shared. “Last message I sent was me saying if I didn’t receive payment I would report and charge her 11-year-old son.”
Despite this mom’s belief that she could press charges, doing so isn’t really within her control.
Criminal defense lawyer Kyle Dreger explained, “Contrary to popular belief, private citizens cannot press charges; only public law enforcement can file criminal charges once there is sufficient evidence.”
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So, this mom couldn’t really press charges against the 11-year-old kid herself. She could certainly report the crime to the police and ask them to take action, but further decisions would be made by prosecutors. The video footage meant things didn’t look great for the kid, though.
His mom must have realized that. The mom who posted on Reddit added an update to her original post. “So, after not responding to my messages for over a week, I messaged last night saying I was going to the police in the morning to make a report,” she said. “And the money was transferred this morning.” It turned out that legal action wasn’t really necessary in this situation; just the threat of it was enough to scare the other family into doing the right thing.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
