Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Harboring a runaway minor

Last summer my 13 year old daughter ran away to her boyfriend's house. My husband suspected her location and went to the house. The boys' parents said she wasn't there and my husband found my daughter running down the street a few minutes later. Just this week, after reading her diary, we learned that the parents did know she was there and lied about it, then sent her away after my husband left. California penal code 272 makes contributing to the delinquency of a minor a misdemeanor. Do we have a legal case here? Especially since their lie kept my daughter's other delinquent behavior hidden from us for all this time. If they had told the truth and turned her over to us we would have been able to address the problems back then.


Asked on 5/24/08, 2:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jacek W. Lentz Law Offices of Jacek W. Lentz

Re: Harboring a runaway minor

First off, you need to be clear what kind of sanctions you want. If you would like the parents to face criminal consequences all you have to do is to report their conduct to the appropriate authorities - police or city attorney's office. Then it is up to them to investigate and make a decision whether to prosecute or not. if they decide to file charges, it is not really "your" case but the people's case against the defendants.

If you want to proceed in civil court for money damages against the parents, you should contact a civil attorney. My hunch is that unless your daughter suffered some major harm because of the parents' conduct, you probably do not have much of a case.

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

310.273.1361

www.lentzlawfirm.com

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Answered on 5/25/08, 3:07 pm


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