Terroristic Threatening of a Minor

My question involves criminal law for the state of: kentucky
My daughter is 14 & she has been arguing with a 13 year old. They have been saying they are going to kick each others butts. When my daughter got off the bus, the girls father approached my daughter. He asked my daughter in a very angry voice if she was saying she was going to kick his daughters butt. My daughter told him that she was not trying to fight his daughter but, she just wanted the girl to stop saying stuff about her. The father proceeded to tell my daughter that his daughter was going to kick my daughters a**.
He then yelled for his daughter & told her to punch my daughter in the face! This all happen on Wednesday. I picked my daughter up from the bus stop yesterday & when I got home, the mother & father were waiting for me. We got into an argument & I called the police. The police did nothing!! I am now terrified for my daughters safety! The father should have came to me instead of threatening my daughter. There were other kids that witnessed this but, their mother doesn't want them to get involved. I spoke with the prosecutor & he told me he can't do anything without witnesses. So what am I suppose to do? Does he have to put my daughter in the hospital in order for the police to do something?

Did the police explain to you why they did nothing?

I expect it was because no crime was committed at the time they were called. An argument is NOT a crime. The previous encouragement to fight may or may not be a crime in your state, but the fact that the police were not called when that offense occurred. And if the other girl actually punched your daughter in the face, you can certainly make a report of that to the police and maybe the city or state will take action against the child for battery on your daughter.

At this point, you might want to see if a restraining order is possible. Since rules for these vary by state, you will have to call the courthouse or some victim advocacy organization and ask if KY has a process to obtain a civil harassment order (aka a protective order or a restraining order).

I don't consider an adult male getting in a 14 year old girls face & threatening her an argument. She was walking home & the father stopped his truck in the middle of the road to come & get in my daughters face & then threaten her with his daughter. I had no idea where these people lived at the time but, they knew where I lived. I did not find out that the girls were arguing until after the father approached my daughter. Why didn't the father come to me first? Why wait a day after you get in my daughyters face & then want to come & talk to me? When he was at my home, he tried to step up on my daughter again. I jumped in front of her & told him not to say nothing to my daughter. Say it to me!
Who in their right mind gets in a little girls face? I can't get a restraining order because I need a witness that saw him do it.

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Quoting Sunshine26

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I don't consider an adult male getting in a 14 year old girls face & threatening her an argument.

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Unfortunately, what you "consider" a threat does no likely coincide with what the law says a threat is.

In most states, the crime of terrorist threats (or the equivalent) requires the threat to be credible, the victim to believe the suspect has the ability to carry out the threat, and the threat of action has to be unconditional and imminent. There may be some lesser offenses for harassment and the like, but it depends on what is said. Since you called the police and even spoke to a prosecutor, it seems that what transpired did not rise to the level of a criminal action - or at least not to a sufficient level that anyone wanted to act on.

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Why didn't the father come to me first? Why wait a day after you get in my daughyters face & then want to come & talk to me?

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No one can tell you why some stranger did what he did. i can make a hundred guesses, but who knows if any of them might be close to the truth.

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Who in their right mind gets in a little girls face? I can't get a restraining order because I need a witness that saw him do it.

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One can be rude and crude and still not break the law.

Most obnoxious behavior is lawful. Unfortunately for you, you may have to wait until the pattern of behavior continues, until you have a witness, or until you can catch it on tape.

The prosecutor did say it was terroristic threatening even if he didn't physically assault her. He stated if the 3 witnesses would come forth then they could do something. I went to the school on Friday because 5 friends of this girl surrounded my daughter in the cafeteria. I explained the situation to the assistant principal along with the sheriff at the school. She said; she would be calling my daughter down to the office that day. The sheriff also said; they would reveiew the cameras. The assistant principal said; she was going to let the childs parents know that she had to get off at her bus stop. The girl keeps getting off at my daughters stop. Guess what nothing has been done!!!!! The girls father now keeps coming down the street where my daughter has to walk. Where these people live; it's a straight shot from the subdivision entrance to where they live. My daughter has to cut down alot of side streets to get to my house. Today the mother & another woman was waiting at my daughters bus stop. I spoke with my attorney & he said; unfornately, there's not much I can do without proof. He told me stay on the school because the girl is not suppose to get off at another bus stop. He said; that he was not trying to scare me but, these situations always end badly. He said; that I was dealing with some crazy damn people! He also stated that he couldn't believe that the police just blew it off as the parents coming to speak with me. The parents were at my home when the police showed up. I don't know what else to do! I am terrified for my daughters safety. I have tried to reach out to the school, police, prosecutor & my attorney. I just know this is going to end badly!It's almost like the girl that committed suicide. The principal at the school still has not called my daughter down to the office. Monday my daughter came home crying because a bunch of the kids on the bus was shooting spit paper in her hair.

I have now found out why the school won't do anything. It's because she is a cheerleading coach at my daughters school!!!!!!!! Do you think I should contact the board of education?

It may be that the school won't do anything because they do not feel there is legal grounds for them to do anything. If she is charged with a crime, they might HAVE to act. Otherwise, an argument can be made that her actions were not school related. And standing at a bus stop is not a crime, nor would it violate school policy so long as she did not actively harass or threaten the child.

This whole thing is swirling around a legal grey area that does not lend itself to an easy solution.

Until the school can do something...look, I was bullied for a long time, before Zero Tolerance.

Get some muscle on your kid. I had a job pushing carts. By the time gym class rolled around and I did better on pushups (male style) than the boys, and did the 2nd most hanging pullups....no one messed with me after that.

You can also get your kid into a training course for self defense. There are karate centers that for a minimal cost will teach how to fight back (good class for any woman or teen). You are not the agressor, you are the one attacked and they teach you to defend. The idea is not to kick the persons ass, but to disable them and run for help.

It's not the kid that I'm worried about! Do any of you have a child? Seriously, what would you do if your daughter came home after getting into an argument with a girl that is 13 & telling you that the father stopped his truck & told her "my daughter will kick your skinny little ass" & then yell for his daughter to punch your daughter in the face. The girl didn't do it but, what if she had? The problem is that the parents think it's ok for their daughter to run her mouth & there will be no consequense for her actions. If any kid says anything to their daughter, they are automatically going to try & intimidate another little girl. My problem is there are now 3 adults involved. They have now involved another woman in this matter. The girls are no longer arguing. It's the mother, father & another woman that keep showing up at my daughters bus stop. They won't let this go. Who in their right mind harrasses a 14 year old girl? I think anyone that thinks that this is ok are nothing but liars. If this was happening to your daughter, you would be P***** O** too!!!!!!!!

No one is saying what is happening is right, but it may not be illegal. The two are not mutually inclusive. My having a child or not (and I have three) does not change anything. Whether I would feel put out or offended by the actions of the other parents is similarly irrelevant with regards to the legal issues.

What you have described would seem to be very borderline criminal behavior, and likely very difficult to prove (depending on the laws in your state and the elements of relevant offenses).

Not everything that we think is an easy matter to evaluate IS. What common sense might say is wrong and messed up, does not necessarily equate to provable criminal activity.

If you can get the police to pursue it, great. If you can get a DA to file on it, great. But, if they all keep telling you, "No," then unless they are in cahoots with the other kid's family, then it is likely that the case has little or no legal merit.