<div class="youtube-replace">Did you see the John Stossel report about the Waco, Texas, mom who also was arrested?
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<div>Did you read the <a href="https://reason.com/2022/11/16/suburban-mom-jailed-handcuffed-cps-son-walk-home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reason report</a> about her case? Heather Wallace and her husband, Scott, agreed to a "plea deal" because they couldn't afford the legal fees to defend against the criminal charges. They reached out to ParentsUSA only AFTER the plea deal was accepted by the court, so there was little we could do to help them.
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<div>On October 30, 2024, another mother, Brit Patterson, was arrested and charged with "Reckless Conduct" solely because her almost 11-year-old son walked less than 1 mile from their home to "downtown" Mineral Bluff, Georgia, population 370. It seems she was a bad mom because she wasn't worried about him being gone from home (he often just goes into the woods behind their home) and she did not report him "missing" for the hour - YES - one hour before a "concerned" citizen called law enforcement!
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<div>Just a boy on a walk. He knows to be careful and NOT to walk in the road. This was on the shoulder of roads where the speed limit is 35 mph then goes down to 25 mph. In a town without ANY stoplights and just one 4-Way Stop intersection.
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<div>This is yet another time when a sole Deputy Sheriff substitutes her judgment about what parents can and cannot do and seeks an arrest warrant (that judges routinely sign without question). Here, the law she is alleged to have violated was declared unconstitutional in 1997 by the Georgia Supreme Court (same law used to arrest Melissa Henderson). Law enforcement just uses that law for anything deemed "reckless" or unsafe.
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<div>Again, another mother arrested with handcuffs, fingerprinting, mug shot (SMILE), stripping down and changing into jail clothing, because one person in law enforcement claims it is SO dangerous to let a child walk about without a parent watching every second. Brit Patterson told ParentsUSA that it was humiliating (and who wouldn't feel that way?) and that her children are so sad watching her get arrested (and her son feels responsible).
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<div>When the Assistant District Attorney for Fannin County was asked whether ANYONE, child or adult, has ever been hit by a vehicle on this stretch of road, she couldn't answer (right after saying "something could have happened"). ParentsUSA has filed an Open Records Request asking for all incidents where a child or adult was injured on this stretch of road and any (GASP) abductions in the entire county in the past TWO YEARS. Let's see what we get.
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<div>Brit tells ParentsUSA that people walk their dogs and adults and children often walk along this stretch. This town has NO stoplights. Dangerous? Well, shouldn't that be up to those who choose to walk there or, if the government is so determined that no one walk along this stretch of road, put up "NO PEDESTRIAN" signs just like they do on the Interstate.
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<div>This is yet another situation where a child who is NOT SUPERVISED at all times leads to the arrest and criminal charges against a parent.
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<div><strong>ParentsUSA will use its limited resources to defend Brit against these criminal charges AND to push back against DFCS (Department of Family and Children Services) efforts to impose a "Safety Plan" that includes terms so that this child is NEVER left unsupervised and that a tracking device is on him or his phone (with the Case Manager watching Brit download the tracking app to his phone).</strong> Good ideas? Perhaps. But only parents should decide the level of supervision of their children unless, as per the US Supreme Court, it is necessary for the government to intervene to protect children from actual harm. Not just something "could" happen or "might" happen.
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<div><strong>We need your help.</strong> Please go to ParentsUSA's website and JOIN and <a href="https://parentsusa.org/donate" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DONATE</a> (and read about some our other cases) or donate here to help us defend Brit and to help us represent other parents across the USA who seek our help, representing them directly, advising and counseling their private attorneys, appealing adverse outcomes, and filing amicus curiae (Friend of the Court) briefs in the appellate courts including the US Supreme Court.
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