Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Newspaper article (names of the school/areas were removed; everything else is verbatim):

"The lower/middle school building at (school) in (county) was closed for two days this week because of vandalism, and four teens are being charged.

Hampton police are filing juvenile petitions against four boys � ages 16 and 17 � from the (--) area, said police Detective R.K. One of the boys is a former student, he said.

Police said the teens broke into the school building on the 11-acre campus on (--) Road, Friday night and tore down posters, damaged items and discharged a fire extinguisher throughout the building.

Police picked up the teens for vandalism in the township, and one of the boys confessed to police that he had vandalized the school, RK said.

The lower/middle school reopened to students Wednesday, according to head of school."

My younger brother is the former student in this incident. He is 16, and I am unsure of what actions he participated in. He also drove his friends to the school with my parents' car and only a learner's permit. I am unsure whether or not the police know this detail.

My question is: what is the mildest/most severe punishment my brother can receive? Is the fact that he drove his friends with him a notable factor in his punishment?


Asked on 9/04/09, 6:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Gibson John W. Gibson, Esquire

Sentencing is very flexible with this type of juvenile offense. A lot depends on exactly what his role was in the incident, so yes, driving his friends to the school is a factor. It doesn't sound like there was a lot of monetary damage, though, so I'd expect he would be released to his parents and placed on some type of house arrest at the worst.

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Answered on 9/15/09, 2:00 pm


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