A Georgia mom, 41-year-old Brittany Patterson, was arrested and charged with endangering her son after her 10-year-old went for an unsupervised walk less than a mile from their home.
On October 30, while Patterson was taking one of her other sons to a medical appointment, she received a call from the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department informing her that her son, Soren, had wandered into town alone from their rural home.
In an interview with NBC, Patterson defended her decision, stating, “It’s not a super dangerous or even dangerous at all stretch of road,” and added, “I wasn’t terrified for him or scared for his safety.”
Initially, the police had driven Soren home and they thought the case was over, instead, they came back to arrest the Georgia mom
Immediately after Ms. Patterson spoke with the authorities, the deputies brought her 10-year-old son back to their home, and initially, everyone thought that was going to be the end of it. They were wrong.
Georgia mother Brittany Patterson was arrested and hauled off to jail in front of her children for letting her 11-year-old son walk less than a mile into town, where just 370 people live. She was charged with reckless conduct, and faces one year in jail. pic.twitter.com/ZEEq7OTqpi
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) November 12, 2024
A few hours after the deputy’s office dropped off Soren at the Patterson home, law enforcement officials came back to arrest the Georgia mom. She was handcuffed and arrested for suspicion of reckless conduct and forced to post a $500 bail.
Ms. Patterson told NBC News, “It was anger and frustration, of course, because my children were having to witness that all.” She added, “They asked me to put my hands behind my back and all that stuff, and I realized what was going on.”
Authorities said they would drop the charges if Ms. Patterson signed a form outlining a safety plan for her children
According to Ms. Patterson and her lawyer, after the arrest, local authorities offered to drop the charges if the Georgia mom agreed to sign a form outlining a safety plan for her children, guaranteeing that they would always remain under “watchful eyes”.
The Georgia mom has refused to sign this plan and said she would contest the charges if they add up to be up to one year in jail, saying “This is not right, I did nothing wrong, I’m going to fight for that.”
Her Lawyer, David DeLuglas also questioned the charges. Mr. DeLuglas asked rhetorically if moms and dads must now know the precise location of their children at all times. He told NBC News, “Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child?” adding, “The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous.”