A Georgia mother is facing potential jail time after her 10-year-old son walked alone to a nearby town, less than a mile from their family home. The case has sparked a heated national conversation about the boundaries of parental rights and state intervention in child-rearing.
On October 30, Brittany Patterson was taking her eldest son to a doctor’s appointment when she gave her younger son, Soren, who was days away from turning 11, the choice to join them or stay home. After briefly waiting in the car and checking inside for him, Patterson assumed Soren would remain on their 16-acre property and left for the appointment. Unknown to her, Soren decided to walk to Mineral Bluff, a small town of about 370 people, to visit a Dollar General store.
A concerned citizen spotted Soren walking alone along the road and contacted the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office, according to reports. Officers escorted the boy home and spoke with his grandfather, who was present on the property. When Patterson returned home 15 minutes later, she discussed the importance of informing her before leaving the property. Assuming the situation had been resolved, she resumed her day. However, later that evening, police returned and arrested Patterson in front of her children, charging her with “reckless conduct.”
The arrest warrant alleged that Patterson knowingly left the residence while her son was “missing” and failed to report it to authorities, describing her actions as a “gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would exercise.” Patterson was booked into the county jail and released on $500 bail. Reflecting on the incident, she expressed both anger and concern about the effect on her children. “After the shock wore off, I started to get angry,” she told Newsweek. “Seeing their mom arrested and hauled off to jail—it’s not something my kids should have to experience.”
The incident has garnered significant community support for Patterson, with advocacy group ParentsUSA stepping in to assist her legal defense. Her attorney, David DeLugas, criticized the state’s approach, arguing that the arrest did not align with the goal of protecting children. “Just because it might not be something you would do or permit for your child doesn’t mean it’s an unreasonable risk,” he said. “Is it really protecting children when we lock up their mother?”
The state also proposed a safety plan that would require Patterson to track her son’s location via phone and have a designated caregiver present whenever she left the house. Patterson refused to sign the agreement, believing it would admit wrongdoing. She remains firm in her stance that her parenting decisions were reasonable. “If they arrested everyone I know in this county that leaves their kids the same age as mine at home on a regular basis, they would have to build a huge jail,” Patterson remarked.
The assistant district attorney reportedly offered to drop the charges if Patterson agreed to the safety plan, but her attorney declined.
????? Really GA
End these fossil laws
The REAL question should be WHO made the decision to make a custodial arrest on what should have been (at worst) a citation.
This is called “tyrants” in action and here’s where every citizen in that area needs to stand up for not only their rights but for the rights of this woman. Good grief, I know times has changed, but our Constitution has not. Back in the 1950s, I as many other young people walked, ran all over the country roads, city streets, having fun with other kids like minded.
After school, getting home, I’d grab my .22 rifle head into the woods to rabbit hunt. Today a dozen blue bellies most likely would swarm over a young teenager with a gun as a threat.