
Quoting
wca
We live in California. Late last week my 15 year old daughter was arrested for shoplifing at the local mall. She and two friends went into one store, took a few pairs of earrings and weren't caught. They then proceeded into another store and took a single pair of earrings and were caught. When the police were called, they gave fake names and addresses. My daughter paniced and called my sister, who then called me at work. The police officer stated my daughter (and her friends) were being charged with two counts of shoplifting and one count of lying to a police officer. The officer released my daughter to me instead of taking her to juvenile hall. Before we left, the mall security guard said to me, "just so you know, the stores will file a civil suit against you (as her parent) for $5000 each, since that's the most they can get". To be clear, my husband and I are very upset with our daughter's actions, we make no excuses for her behavior and she will be disciplined by us. But we are good parents, we're both college educated, have good jobs and have never been in trouble with the law. Our daughter is an only child and until this incident, has never been in serious trouble. We don't allow her to run around and infact, she had just gotten off being grounded for a poor grade in school. My question is... can my husband and I really be fined $5000 for each of our daughter's shoplifting charges? Will a judge really award that? I belive our daughter should face consequences for her actions, but I really don't believe charging us, as her parents, up to $10,000 is appropriate.
Any insight will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.