Harboring a Runaway

My question involves juvenile law in the State of: mississippi what are the penalties or charges for harboring a runaway across state lines in Mississippi?

If it occurs across state lines, it turns into a FEDERAL level charge, not a state level one.

what would the consequenses be

Google "Mann act".

ok will do. can someone tell me what the consequenses be if i went to someones house and my parents came to get me and i wouldn't leave i'm sixteen and in the process of trying to get emancipated. i went to a friends house and my dad came there and beat me REALY bad and i called the cops and they just sent me home with him.. i am sixteen and i was at my friend and his moms house who is 19.. what would the consequenses be for them if i wnt back and wouldn't leave..

As I read it, the maximum penalty is a year in prison for the person who knowingly participated in harboring the juvenile across state lines. (Not to mention consequences associated with a criminal record for a federal crime against a juvenile that would follow.)

And....getting into ANY level of trouble with the law, whether "justified" by what's going on at home or not, is likely to shoot down your chances of emancipation. If there is abuse occurring in the home, then CPS and/or police need to be contacted each and every time some form of physical abuse occurs.

thank you. are the charges the same for harboring within state lines? it is still considered harboring since i am at the age of conent and refuse to leave right?

Your consent to go and desire to stay is irrelevent. So long as you are a juvenile, you are under the authority of your parents. The Mann Act makes it a federal crime for an adult to transport individuals under the age of 18 across state lines when such an act works against parental authority.

Usually, penalties can include being fined for $5,000, or imprisoned for 5 years, or both - BUT could be doubled if a minor (you) is involved.

You can always check with the FBI's Louisville field office at (502) 583-3941 and see exactly how interested they'd be if your parents reported the situation.

Bottom line the adult that harbors you is playing a very dangerous game with very serious consequences

ok thank you very very much!!!

The Mann Act, 18 USC § 2421 et seq, relates to transporting a female across state lines for immoral purposes (i.e., for purposes relating to sexual activity).

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Quoting Mississippi Code § 97-5-39. Contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child; felonious abuse and/or battery of a child.

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(1)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any parent, guardian or other person who willfully commits any act or omits the performance of any duty, which act or omission contributes to or tends to contribute to the neglect or delinquency of any child or which act or omission results in the abuse of any child, as defined in Section 43-21-105(m) of the Youth Court Law, or who knowingly aids any child in escaping or absenting himself from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution, or knowingly harbors or conceals, or aids in harboring or concealing, any child who has absented himself without permission from the guardianship or custody of any person, agency or institution to which the child shall have been committed by the youth court shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment not to exceed one (1) year in jail, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(b) If the child's deprivation of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care or supervision appropriate to the child's age results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five (5) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or both.

(c) A parent, legal guardian or other person who knowingly permits the continuing physical or sexual abuse of a child is guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.

(2)

(a) Any person who shall intentionally (i) burn any child, (ii) torture any child or, (iii) except in self-defense or in order to prevent bodily harm to a third party, whip, strike or otherwise abuse or mutilate any child in such a manner as to cause serious bodily harm, shall be guilty of felonious abuse of a child and, upon conviction, shall be sentenced to imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for life or such lesser term of imprisonment as the court may determine, but not less than ten (10) years. For any second or subsequent conviction under this subsection, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life.

(b)

(i) A parent, legal guardian or caretaker who endangers a child's person or health by knowingly causing or permitting the child to be present where any person is selling, manufacturing or possessing immediate precursors or chemical substances with intent to manufacture, sell or possess a controlled substance as prohibited under Section 41-29-139 or 41-29-313, is guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten (10) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), or both.

(ii) If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than twenty (20) years or to payment of a fine of not more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), or both.

(3) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent proceedings against the parent, guardian or other person under any statute of this state or any municipal ordinance defining any act as a crime or misdemeanor. Nothing in the provisions of this section shall preclude any person from having a right to trial by jury when charged with having violated the provisions of this section.

(4) After consultation with the Department of Human Services, a regional mental health center or an appropriate professional person, a judge may suspend imposition or execution of a sentence provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section and in lieu thereof require treatment over a specified period of time at any approved public or private treatment facility. A person may be eligible for treatment in lieu of criminal penalties no more than one (1) time.

(5) In any proceeding resulting from a report made pursuant to Section 43-21-353 of the Youth Court Law, the testimony of the physician making the report regarding the child's injuries or condition or cause thereof shall not be excluded on the ground that the physician's testimony violates the physician-patient privilege or similar privilege or rule against disclosure. The physician's report shall not be considered as evidence unless introduced as an exhibit to his testimony.

(6) Any criminal prosecution arising from a violation of this section shall be tried in the circuit, county, justice or municipal court having jurisdiction; provided, however, that nothing herein shall abridge or dilute the contempt powers of the youth court.

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so what i'm gettin from gettin from paragraph (a) is if i leave state with somone or stay with them when i get there they would ahve to pay a $1,000 fine and/or go to prison for up to one year. Am i right or way off??lol

Lets make it simple DONT DO IT!!! Its a crime to habor a runaway period the degree of the crime depends on many factors. If you dont do it then the consequence is unimportant

that's what i needed to hear. thanks!

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Quoting me01

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so what i'm gettin from gettin from paragraph (a) is if i leave state with somone or stay with them when i get there they would ahve to pay a $1,000 fine and/or go to prison for up to one year. Am i right or way off??lol

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The fact that you would even ASK this question disqualifies you for emancipation.

Edit to add: Look over FlyingHawk's postings...He was legally emancipated. He was the only person EVER to post on any of the forums that I belong to that actually qualified.

Not to mention that we went over all of this last month with the same OP:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60438

It wasn't gonna happen then, and it isn't gonna happen now. Kentucky doesn't HAVE an emancipation process, so that's a mute point. They DO however have lots of nifty statutes like 509.040 Kidnapping, or
509.070 Custodial interference which can really bite someone in the proverbial fanny (class B and D felonies). Abuse issues need to be directed to Child Protective Services, emotional and other issues can be addressed to a wide variety of folks from school counselors, to your pastor, to your local teen help hotline, etc. - but putting someone else in the midst of a potentially life-altering criminal charge (even if they go along willingly) isn't going to gain you the freedom you crave for long - kind of like running into a shelter and then setting it on fire. Two years isn't that long - do what you've got to do to either get along and make things work until you hit 18 or bring in outside help like authorities or CPS - if things are as bad as you paint them, even foster care could be a possibility - but running away puts you immediately behind the 8 ball where the law is concerned.

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Quoting aardvarc

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Not to mention that we went over all of this last month with the same OP:

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60438

It wasn't gonna happen then, and it isn't gonna happen now. Kentucky doesn't HAVE an emancipation process, so that's a mute point. They DO however have lots of nifty statutes like 509.040 Kidnapping, or
509.070 Custodial interference which can really bite someone in the proverbial fanny (class B and D felonies). Abuse issues need to be directed to Child Protective Services, emotional and other issues can be addressed to a wide variety of folks from school counselors, to your pastor, to your local teen help hotline, etc. - but putting someone else in the midst of a potentially life-altering criminal charge (even if they go along willingly) isn't going to gain you the freedom you crave for long - kind of like running into a shelter and then setting it on fire. Two years isn't that long - do what you've got to do to either get along and make things work until you hit 18 or bring in outside help like authorities or CPS - if things are as bad as you paint them, even foster care could be a possibility - but running away puts you immediately behind the 8 ball where the law is concerned.

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Yeah...I saw that. She has a bunch of threads going on the same non-topic...:wallbang:

well that sucks for the people who live in Kentucky but i live in Mississippi lol and i have some people at our local region eight who are helping me and i am working on getting emancipated i will be eligeble as soon as i can get a job i have a lot of places to work but it's just getting my dad to let me work.. i just have to petition it to a judge but the people at that region eight are helping me with that..

and there was some major abuse that was reported to DHS just recently but my dad knows the woman that works at our local DHS but my dad knows the woman soo.. and it was even reported to the police but he knows them too..

and i realize this is like my previous topics and how that could be pretty annoying i'm sure but this one wasn't about the 19 yr old it was about me staying with my aunt who offerd to let me atay with her and get a job and finish school and keep me safe so i could emancipate. i was just wondering if that be different than the situation with the 19 yr old

Honey, you and I have talked about this a lot offline, right? You know I just want to help, right?

It doesn't make a difference who you run to, that person can get into trouble. The only person who currently has the legal right to say where you can live is your dad. It sounds as if CPS is beginning to take notice and that's all to the good for you. It may be that eventually you will be allowed to live with your aunt or another relative, but that's still in the future for you. Right now, you can only live where your dad (or CPS) says you can live. Okay? :)

okay i know this just sucks so bad.. i talked to cps but my dad knows the woman that works there so they didn't do anything..:wallbang:

If there is abuse and the work is not doing anything that is violation of law. Find another worker

does it have to be one in your county??

You can try contacting this person:

Cym Doggett, Southern Region Project Director
Email:cdoggett@nationalcac.org

They can also be reached at this number (256) 533-5437
It's an alabama number but they serve Mississippi

[COLOR="Plum"][/COLOR THANK YOU!