Legal Question in Criminal Law in North Carolina

my son found a broken screen ipod, though it was trash, put it in his binder, teacher asked if he had it, he gave it to her. GIrl said all her info was gone(15 min time between classes that anyone could have messed with it).Parents are threatening that if i dont bye a replacement(even though they have the ipod) that is 400.00 when hers was 200.00 new, they are going to have charges filed aginst my 14 year old son and take us to court. I have sent a request for a local lawyer to contact me for guidence but im freaking out.


Asked on 10/20/12, 12:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

This sounds like extortion. While it is not entirley improper to negotiate a monetary reimbursment in exchange for not pressing charges, the situation you describe seems to indicate they are over reaching quite a bit. If the facts are as you described them - your son did nothing wrong. My personal choice would be to not pay them anything and deal with any criminal charges with a trial. This is assuming they or a dective can even convince a magistrate to issue a warrant under these circumstances.

A critical part of this situation would be where your son 'found' the iPod. If he found it on the ground near a trash can - it would be reasonable to assume it was trash. If he found it in someone's desk - well that's a different matter. Consult with a local criminal attorney to see what your best options are.

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Answered on 10/21/12, 12:52 pm


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