Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor - Teen Driving

[Laughing Gull]

Phoenix, AZ. Apr 2013.

Good Morning, and thank you in advance for your guidance and/or advice.

My 16 year old son, a junior in high school, has had his drivers license for just over three months. In AZ, for the first six months of having a graduated drivers license, a teen cannot have more than one passenger under the age of 18. My son is NOT an experienced driver and we are very restrictive on where he can drive alone, although a few times we've allowed him to drive himself and a friend, or himself and his sister, to the pizza store about two miles away. We're very aware that car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, and we originally thought about not allowing him to get a license until he turned 18 and could get it on his own. But because we're getting ready to move overseas we decided it would be easier for him to get it now, in the states.

A couple of weeks ago my son asked whether he could borrow his grandmother's minivan and drive himself and six other teens to their prom, and dinner beforehand. I told him ABSOLUTELY not, and that he is not allowed to ride with any other teen, under any circumstances. He knows full well how his father and I feel about teens driving with/for teens, and he knows the restrictions on his drivers license , so I really and I don't know why he asked in the first place. Duh. I told him I was more than happy to drive him and his friends to dinner and then prom, and that I would make myself as invisible as possible. A few days before the prom, he told me he was invited to ride along with some of his friends, and that one of the mothers was driving them all in her minivan.

My son goes to a college prep charter school, and my husband and I have always respected his selection of nice friends, who in turn have nice, responsible parents. Most of his friends' parents have made a point of meeting my husband and me prior to letting their children participate in events at our house, or go places with us, and we have done the same, although most of the time the activities are at our house or with our family. Because of my son's excellent track record of choosing really good people for friends, we've started giving him a little more social independence.

I called the phone number my son gave me, asked for Mrs. xxx. She said that was her, and we discussed the plans for prom night. She told me that she and her husband were driving the kids that night, first to dinner in downtown Phoenix, then to the prom, then home from the prom, and she would be happy for my son to join them. She said I should drop my son at her house at 3pm, and she would have him home to my house after the prom, which ended around 10pm.

Two nights ago I noticed a post on my son's Facebook page, thanking my son for driving on prom night. I confronted my son, who admitted it had been a set-up, and that the mother I spoke to had agreed to lie to me so my son could take her van and drive the kids to prom. I'm almost certain the parents of the other five children (seven kids in the van, minus my son and the son of the van's owner) would never have given permission if they knew: 1) my son would be breaking the law, 2) my son is a very inexperienced driver, 3) my son was disobeying his parents by driving, and 4) the van involved was a piece of junk and might not have even been safe, and 5) the vehicle was provided by a mother who was an idiot, one way or another. I'm allowing for the possibility that the person I spoke to was not the mother, maybe not the van owner, was maybe even one of the girls' involved, although my son insists it was the mother. Incidentally, the van was equipped with some kind of breathalyzer device that the kids had to breathe into periodically.

I went to the mother's house, but she wasn't home. My son was very upset when he learned I went there, and said he worried I would get hurt, because they are bad people. I don't know whether he's telling the truth or just trying to keep me from pursuing this issue. I just want to find out the truth. If this mother was involved, I want to know whether there is any basis for her to be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I'm very angry about the danger all seven of these children were placed in that night.

As for my son, I have taken his license away and his father and I are discussing how to proceed with his consequences, including the possibility of taking him to each parent to admit what he did, apologize for abusing their trust, and for placing their precious children at such a risk. Maybe the further natural consequences of his friends not being allowed to hang out with my son anymore would be a good result. My husband went overseas on a permanent military assignment, a couple of months ago, and my children and I are joining him in two months, when school lets out for the year. This doesn't give us a lot of time.

Thanks for the time it has taken you to read my post, and for any advice you can give me.

[PandorasBox]

I like your idea of taking him to each parent....

My advice would be to take away the cell phone and computer, too. If he needs to use the computer for homework, someone sits next to him. And also to drive him to and from school, since he can't be trusted (and with SmartPhones, he can borrow one from a friend on the bus). He also needs a job to learn responsibility. With responsibility comes trust comes privileges..... even two months at McD's will be good for him.

Hide the car keys, too.

[aardvarc]

I want to know whether there is any basis for her to be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

If you're asking if there if the technical elements of the crime of contributing to the delinquency of a minor are met with these circumstances; that's a good probability, yes. However, if you're asking if a prosecutor would actually BRING such a criminal charge, along with the associated work load and cost to tax payers, for a case where no OTHER element, such as drunk driving, accident, or vandalism occurred - and where the subject of the charge, your son, won't even be in the country to testify - I'd say incredibly slim. The CJ system just doesn't work that fast. The process of police filing the report, the prosecutor reviewing the report, deciding to prosecute, issuing notices to appear, arraignment, scheduling a case on the docket, pre-trial motions and negotiations between prosecution and defense....realistically you'd be looking at anywhere from 6 months to a year before this would see a courtroom - and without the victim, the state isn't likely to attempt such a case.

[Laughing Gull]

Thank you both for your replies. I understand the points you make, aardvarc. When I lived in Texas, a daycare owner hit me and the police who responded (called by the daycare staff) said I could file a "civil complaint." I did, because the daycare owner had a reputation of being rough with the children. I just wanted something on record in case she ever hurt a child and there were charges brought against her. It got the attention of the city prosecutor, and to make a long story short, the daycare owner was charged, there was a trial, and she was found guilty of simple assault. Is there something similar in AZ where I can make a statement that will simply stay on file? If the van is equipped with the breathalyzer, maybe the mom already has a criminal record. Thank you very much.

[Disagreeable]

Making a stink could result in criminal charges being brought against your son that will follow him for life. Take his license, explain to him how having an accident without a license could have cost you n hubby everything you own and that he could have been jailed for life, if an accident happened and people died. Do not let him associate with the family in question.

[PandorasBox]

If the van is equipped with the breathalyzer, maybe the mom already has a criminal record

you do have to wonder about that one.....very good question....

[cdwjava]

It seems to me that you are not entirely sure of what transpired that night. The other mom may not have broken ANY law. All you know is that someone at the other end of the phone claimed to be Mrs. Xxx and said she'd take the kids around and have them home. Has your son admitted that this woman really existed, was a mom, and that she knowingly lied to cover for him? It might be that the kids fed her a line of hooey that she bought and loaned them the van. Loaning a van to a teenager with a license may not be considered contributing to the deliquency unless AZ law also requires the owner of the vehicle to verify the provisional status of a driver's license in addition to possessing one.

As for having it on record, well, you can always report the incident to the police. That way it will be on record. As mentioned, nothing is likely to come of it, but the incident and the names - including your son's unlawful act - will be forever recorded on a police report.

[Laughing Gull]

Thank you cdwjava. You're right that the only thing I (think I) know for certain is that my son knowingly broke the law, and put himself and others at risk. It sounds like it's not worth addressing from a legal/law enforcement standpoint. If this family does have problems, we're better off just leaving them be. I appreciate all of your replies and feedback.

[cdwjava]

As a police officer and as the father of three teenage boys and their assorted friends, I have had to deal with similar webs of lies and attempts at deception. Kids can often deliver quite the song and dance to parents willing to listen or too busy/distracted/unconcerned to ask too many questions.