What Happens if an Adult Boyfriend Helps a Minor Child Run Away from Home

My question involves juvenile law for the state of: Colorado

I'm 14 years old and I have a boyfriend who is 24 and my parents don't approve of us dating so we decided to run away together. My boyfriend has a van in which the back can be used as a makeshift bed so we decided to embark on a road trip to Canada. I waited until my parents went to work, packed up as much as I could into some suitcases then my boyfriend arrived in the van to pick me up. We put my stuff on board and then we headed North towards Canada. Within an hour we were in Wyoming and it was so exciting. We drove for a few more hours then arrived in Montana. I had texted my parents and told them I was at a friends house studying so I figured I had time to get out of the country before they found out what was happening. If i were to make it to Canada there is no legal action my parents take to get me back to Colorado, right?

Anyways I fell asleep eventually and then we stopped at a gas station restaurant to have dinner and fuel up. We were back on the road in about an hour. We continued driving and once it started to get dark out my parents told me to come home. I told them I was staying the night at my friends house and they told me no I had to come home. I was sure I was able to convince them to let me stay so my boyfriend pulled over and shut off the engine and I called my mom. She was silent for a moment then asked "why does it say you're calling from out of state?" i asked her what she was talking about and she said the area code was from another state. I hung up immediately and told my boyfriend we had to haul ass to Canada NOW.

He turned on the engine and drove as fast as he could and we got closer and closer to the border. Then a police car showed up and started chasing us with lights and sirens on. We kept going and when we reached the border it was all blocked off by police and state troopers. I thought we were done for and then my boyfriend veered to the right and crashed right through some bushes to get across the border. I started cheering because we were now safe in Canada. But then the state troopers and police started following us. We kept going but then there was a huge line of traffic with no way around it. My boyfriend slammed on the brakes and in the blink of an eye law enforcement was caught up with us. They pulled my boyfriend out of the van and handcuffed him. While that was happening i was also removed from the vehicle. My boyfriend was arrested and I was told he was in serious criminal trouble and would almost certainly end up in prison. I was put in a car and transported home, and they alerted my parents.

When I got home I was immediately sent to my room. My bedroom door had been taken off, my TV removed, all my makeup and jewelry gone and I had changes of weather appropriate clothing and all the rest of my clothes were gone. I'm posting this from a school computer right now. I'm grounded from all technology and I'm not even allowed to travel to and from school and home without one of my parents.

My questions are:
1. What legal action do me and my boyfriend take now? Law enforcement had no right to follow us across the border and arrest us there.
2. I don't think my parents are innocent here either. They put me in serious danger by reporting me as a runaway because they knew I wasn't just going to come home. I could have been killed in a car accident. Also removing my bedroom door is an invasion of privacy.

Also if you were my parent what would you do about this?

Is this a joke, or have you been watching the story about the Tennessee teacher and his 14 year old student who ran away together and fantasizing? If this happened to be a true situation, you are a very lucky youngster that you are not dead or seriously injured right now. Your twenty four year old boyfriend is very likely incarcerated right now with federal charges pending against him. His life is pretty much over. There is no "me and my boyfriend." And he deserves what he gets for sheer stupidity if nothing else. Google the Mann act while you're sneaking onto the school computers. Your parents are treating you appropriately. You're lucky you're not in juvenile custody right now. Don't do anything stupid or you will soon move to a place which has even less privacy and amenities.

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Quoting comment/ator

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Is this a joke, .

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Post history, my dear.

You are so right! This one has juvie in her future no matter what we say here. :)

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Post history, my dear.

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You would think as quickly as they have been swatting down the spam infestation, management might take a swipe at the troll brigade that has also been setting up shop.

Oh, I just have to respond to this one.

If i were to make it to Canada there is no legal action my parents take to get me back to Colorado, right? You have GOT to be kidding. You are (if we take you at your word, which I'm by no means sure we should do), 14 years old. Your parents OWN you. They have every legal right to drag you home from Canada or Mexico or Indonesia.

1. What legal action do me and my boyfriend take now? Law enforcement had no right to follow us across the border and arrest us there. You take no legal action at all. Law enforcement had EVERY right to follow you and bring you back home from wherever your little underage behind was when it wasn't supposed to be there. Your "boyfriend" needs a criminal attorney first, and a psychologist to figure out why, at 24, he is attracted to 14 year old girls, second.

2. I don't think my parents are innocent here either. They put me in serious danger by reporting me as a runaway because they knew I wasn't just going to come home. I could have been killed in a car accident. Also removing my bedroom door is an invasion of privacy. But you see, child, it isn't your choice whether or not to come home. It's THEIR choice whether you come home or not. You weren't killed in a car accident, so that's no argument. And at 14, you are entitled to exactly the privacy your parents want you to have and no more.

Also if you were my parent what would you do about this? Exactly what your parents did. Right down to taking away your clothing and taking you to school.

In fact, if I were the cynical type, I'd think that they (or maybe you, since I'm really by no means convinced this is real) had been reading some of my prior posts where I recommended that parents of runaway children like you do exactly that.

Well, before this one chokes on her "lollipops", maybe we should talk about the "Garden Of Eden" parenting style.

Perfect in this case, don't you think?

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Quoting whathappensafter

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If i were to make it to Canada there is no legal action my parents take to get me back to Colorado, right?

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Wrong. Your parents could indeed have the Canadian authorities return you to the U.S. In Canada, just as in the U.S., you are a minor and subject to the control of your parents. Canada might also extradite your boyfriend to face criminal charges for this little escapade, too. Assuming that it really happened. And I have my doubts, based in part on this:

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Quoting whathappensafter

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I was sure I was able to convince them to let me stay so my boyfriend pulled over and shut off the engine and I called my mom. She was silent for a moment then asked "why does it say you're calling from out of state?" i asked her what she was talking about and she said the area code was from another state. I hung up immediately and told my boyfriend we had to haul ass to Canada NOW.

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If you called them from your cell phone (which is what your post implies and what you should have done if you were thinking at all) then the telephone number (including the area code) that would show up is the one assigned to your phone. You evidently don't realize that the area code on a cell phone call is not based on where you are calling from, but is always the number assigned to the phone. Had you called from your cell phone, all your parents would have seen is the same number they’ve always associated with your cell phone. There’d be no way she’d see some unknown area code and conclude you were out-of-state. This slip up in your story tells me you’ve made it all up. If you are going to make things up, you better at least understand how things really work so you don’t make such an obvious mistake that reveals the lie.

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Quoting whathappensafter

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He turned on the engine and drove as fast as he could and we got closer and closer to the border.Then a police car showed up and started chasing us with lights and sirens on.

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This is also suspect in your story. Even if your mother had been alerted that you were out-of-state, there is no way they’d have known exactly where you were. It’s very unlikely that the cops would have known to be looking for your boyfriends van in that area of Montana. (Do your parents even know the plate number of your boyfriend’s van? I’d be surprised if they did unless they were keeping tabs on it to take out an order of protection against him.) So more than likely if this story were true that cop would be trying to stop you for a traffic violation (speeding, probably). The smart thing to do would have been to stop, take the ticket, and move on. Fleeing the cop is a good way to get a whole bunch of charges tacked on.

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Quoting whathappensafter

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When I got home I was immediately sent to my room. My bedroom door had been taken off, my TV removed, all my makeup and jewelry gone and I had changes of weather appropriate clothing and all the rest of my clothes were gone. I'm posting this from a school computer right now. I'm grounded from all technology and I'm not even allowed to travel to and from school and home without one of my parents.

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If this story is true, then all I can say is cheers to your parents for doing the right thing and exercising parental control over an out-of-control teen. It sounds very much like you have a mind set that will get you into a lot of trouble.

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Quoting whathappensafter

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1. What legal action do me and my boyfriend take now? Law enforcement had no right to follow us across the border and arrest us there.

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Your boyfriend can ask his lawyer what effect the arrest in Canada (if, in fact, that is where it occurred) would have on any pending charges he has. As for you, there is no legal action you can take. None of your rights were violated.

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Quoting whathappensafter

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2. I don't think my parents are innocent here either. They put me in serious danger by reporting me as a runaway because they knew I wasn't just going to come home. I could have been killed in a car accident. Also removing my bedroom door is an invasion of privacy.

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Your parents have every right to report you as a run away or missing. If you were killed in a car accident, that is not their fault, it would be the fault of your boyfriend’s bad driving. And as a minor, you have no particular right to privacy in your home. Your parents are free to remove the bedroom doors and observe what you do to ensure you are following their rules, and in particular to make sure you aren’t finding some way to communicate with your boyfriend. As I said in another post, there is something seriously wrong with a 24 year-old man wanting to be with a 14 year-old girl. Your parents apparently know that too, and are doing what is needed to protect you from him. No court will take issue with that, particularly if the episode you described had really happened.

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Quoting whathappensafter

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Also if you were my parent what would you do about this?

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I’d do what they did plus file in court for an order of protection prohibiting your boyfriend from having any kind of contact with you at all and ensuring he keeps well away from home and school. I'd also arrange for the school to monitor all your use of computers and prohibit you from using any e-mail and chat services while on a school computer.

In addition to the holes Taxing Matters found, there is another larger one. How does a minor pass border control into Canada? Obviously, no driver's license so that is out for ID. Maybe a passport, but most kids in Colorado do not have passports. Maybe a birth certificate, but most kids don't have their original birth certificate, the parents put them is a secure location as a valuable document. Even with a passport/birth certificate, it identifies you as a minor and to prevent child trafficking Canada will not allow a minor into their country without a parent being present (with few exceptions). There is no way they could have gotten into Canada legally. And having been there, other than at the actual border checkpoint, I cannot see there being significant traffic on any road in either country near the Montana/Canadian border at night.

If a quarter of all of what she has posted is true, she is setting herself up for a tough life.

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Quoting joef

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In addition to the holes Taxing Matters found, there is another larger one. How does a minor pass border control into Canada? Obviously, no driver's license so that is out for ID. Maybe a passport, but most kids in Colorado do not have passports. Maybe a birth certificate, but most kids don't have their original birth certificate, the parents put them is a secure location as a valuable document. Even with a passport/birth certificate, it identifies you as a minor and to prevent child trafficking Canada will not allow a minor into their country without a parent being present (with few exceptions). There is no way they could have gotten into Canada legally. And having been there, other than at the actual border checkpoint, I cannot see there being significant traffic on any road in either country near the Montana/Canadian border at night.

If a quarter of all of what she has posted is true, she is setting herself up for a tough life.

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You guys are being all sensible and stuff.

That's not what the lollipop-loving OP wants.