A mother-of-four was handcuffed in front of her children and hauled off to jail after she allowed her 11-year-old son to walk less than a mile into a small town.
Brittany Patterson went to drive her eldest son to a medical appointment on October 30, and her youngest, 11-year-old Soren, was supposed to tag along – but was not around when it was time to leave, Reason Magazine reports.
She had figured he was simply playing in the woods or visiting his grandmother, Patterson told the outlet, noting that her father lives with them and her mother and sisters live just two minutes away.
But it turned out Soren decided to walk to downtown Mineral Bluff, a town of just 370 people that is less than a mile from their home.
He was spotted alongside the road by a woman who asked if he was OK, and even though he replied that he was, the woman called police, the magazine reports.
Brittany Patterson was handcuffed in front of her children and hauled off to jail after her son walked less than a mile into a small town
A female sheriff’s deputy then picked up the boy, and called Patterson.
‘She asked me if I knew he was downtown and I said, “no,”‘ the mother said.
She said she was upset that Soren had gone into town without letting anyone know, but did not think there was a reason to worry.
‘I was not panicking as I know the roads and know he is mature enough to walk there without incident,’ Patterson said of the street that has a speed limit of up to 35mph.
The deputy, however, ‘kept mentioning how he could have been run over, or kidnapped or “anything” could have happened,’ Patterson said.
The deputy ultimately drove Soren home and left him with his grandfather.
When Patterson ultimately returned home, she scolded her son for his actions – which she thought was the end of her woes.
But at around 6.30pm that night, the deputy showed up with another officer, handcuffed Patterson and brought her to jail, where she was fingerprinted, had her mugshot taken and was put in prison garb, according to an online fundraiser set up for her legal bills.
She said she did not understand what was happening, as she had grown up in the area with unsupervised time to wander and play, and was raising her children that way as well.
Patterson has been raising her children with unsupervised time to wander and play
The town of Mineral Bluff, Georgia has just 370 people – and the road leading to it has a maximum speed limit of 35mph
Patterson was ultimately released on a $500 bail – but her troubles did not end there.
The following day, a case manager from the Division of Family and Children’s Services arrived at her house for a home visit and even interviewed Patterson’s oldest son at his school.
The case manager told Patterson everything seemed fine, she told Reason Magazine, but a few days later, the Division of Family and Children’s Services presented her with a ‘safety plan’ for her to sign.
It would require her to delegate a ‘safety person’ to be a ‘knowing participant and guardian’ and watch over the children whenever she leaves home.
The plan would also require Patterson to download an app on Soren’s cellphone to monitor his location – something she has refused to do.
She instead reached out to attorney David DeLugas, the head of ParentsUSA – a nonprofit that provides pro bono legal help to parents wrongly arrested and prosecuted for child neglect.
Patterson is now facing a reckless conduct charge, a $1,000 fine and one year in jail after refusing to download a tracking app on her son’s phone
An assistant district attorney has since told DeLugas that if Patterson were to sing the safety plan, the criminal charges against her would be dropped.
But DeLugas responded by saying that if Patterson was being compelled to sign a safety plan just because her son walked somewhere without her knowing his exact location, he would be prevented from visiting friends or having any independence whatsoever.
Still, the assistant district attorney maintained that Soren had been in danger, and therefore a safety plan was necessary.
She now faces a reckless conduct charge, a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.