Can NC parents be charged for their kids’ crimes? Here’s what state law says
Chaos in uptown Charlotte led to police arresting multiple juveniles and citing their parents at the Charlotte Knights’ fireworks show on the Fourth of July.
Several fights among juveniles led to arrests and gun seizures outside Truist Field, where the Knights hold the annual event, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officials said on Twitter.
Charges against the juveniles included affray, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting a public officer, assault on a government official, disorderly conduct, possession of a firearm on city property, possession of pyrotechnics and failure to disperse.
The parents of the minors were cited for contributing to the delinquency of a minor by leaving their teens unsupervised, police said. The juveniles in question are aged 13 to 17.
Can NC parents face legal consequences for their childrens’ crimes?
According to North Carolina state law, parents can be charged with a misdemeanor if they know, cause, encourage or aid any juvenile to “commit an act whereby the juvenile could be adjudicated delinquent, undisciplined, abused or neglected.”
Juveniles are considered neglected when a parent or guardian “does not provide proper care, supervision or discipline,” state law says.
Parents can also be held financially responsible for crimes committed by their children.
State law says people can recover up to $2,000 in damages from parents of a minor who injures them or destroys their property.
Can NC parents be charged if a child takes their gun?
State law says anyone who lives with a minor and stores a firearm in a place where they could gain access to it without the guardian’s permission can be charged with a misdemeanor if the minor:
Displays the firearm in a public place in a careless, angry or threatening manner
Causes personal injury or death to someone not in self defense
Uses it to commit a crime
Charges from child abuse to involuntary manslaughter have been filed against parents after children too young to be prosecuted accidentally shoot themselves or other children, The New York Times reported.
However, a small portion of adults have been prosecuted when their children commit gun-related offenses.
An analysis of 145 school shootings between 1999 and 2018 by The Washington Post said children used guns taken from their own homes or the homes of someone they knew 84 times. Of those cases, only four adult owners were ever convicted of a crime.
This story was originally published July 14, 2023 at 6:20 AM with the headline "Can NC parents be charged for their kids’ crimes? Here’s what state law says."
