Recognize this? “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects …”

It is the beginning of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, the origin of all “right to privacy” laws in our country. But what happens when a parent’s right to privacy leads to horrific crimes by that parent’s child? How do Virginia’s child neglect laws affect you?

Jump to a Section

Meet the Crumbleys

National headlines blared out the news that Ethan Crumbley, 16 at the time, carried to school a gun his father bought for him and then shot and killed four fellow high school students at his school in Michigan. Ethan pleaded guilty and will spend the rest of his life in prison, without the opportunity for parole.

Now meet his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, whose criminal neglect of their own son’s mental state and overt signs of hostility allowed him to destroy many lives. Jennifer and James have been sentenced to at least 10 years each for their refusal to address Ethan’s behavior.

They are the first U.S. parents to be convicted in connection with a mass shooting.

But they will not be the last.

Who Can Be Charged with Child Neglect?

Criminal neglect of a child’s actions is a crime not only in Michigan but also here in Virginia. Take the case of Deja Taylor, a Newport News mother of a six-year-old. She pled guilty to criminal child neglect after her first-grader took a gun to school and shot his teacher. Ms. Taylor received a prison sentence of two years.

But the tragic events do not end inside the classroom.

The damage caused by Deja Taylor’s clear and admitted negligence spilled over far beyond the tragic shooting of the boy’s teacher, who survived the shooting. An assistant principal, Ebony Parker, has also been charged with child neglect for allegedly delaying her response to staff reports of the presence of a gun in the elementary school. Ms. Parker is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, just as the Crumbley parents and Ms. Taylor were.

In Loco Parentis

Public schools operate under a legal concept called in loco parentis, in which school staff members — administrators, teachers, cafeteria workers, custodians, learning support aides — are considered to operate on behalf of children’s parents during school hours.

The legal presumption is that all those educational employees display a parent’s concern for the safety and benefit of the children in their care. Ms. Parker’s duties were to consider the safety and wellbeing of all the children in the school, including the six-year-old shooter and his classmates.

Allegedly ignoring reports of the gun in school, Ms. Parker apparently did not perform in loco parentis; she neglected a child or children. The child’s mother’s neglect of her own child does not absolve other adults of their responsibilities, which then included compensating for another adult’s neglect.

Your Kids, Your Responsibility

Your own children are your responsibility until they reach 18 or self-emancipate at age 16 through Virginia’s courts. Every action, expense, and decision they make is legally your responsibility.

That a six-year-old got hold of a gun, got it to school, and discharged it speaks far more of the adults around that boy than of decisions the boy made. Who watched the child? Who watched the gun?

Obviously responsible parents lock up weapons in the home. They teach their children to respect firearms. They enroll their children in training to use such weapons.

But bear in mind the six-year-old could have carried a knife or hammer to school — the weapon is not central to the issue of child neglect. The pattern in both the Crumbley and Taylor cases is the refusal of parents to watch their children.

Under Virginia law, your children cannot enter into contracts, cannot own real or personal property, cannot agree to anything bearing legal consequences, and cannot make decisions of legal consequence. The parents have all those rights and responsibilities.

That is why you pay your neighbor for the time your kid bats a baseball through a neighbor’s window. That is why you make your kids clean their graffiti off trash cans and garage doors. That is why your homeowners insurance company will eventually reimburse your neighbor’s insurance company when your kid destroys the neighbor’s fence.

And that is why you, not your child, are charged with criminal child neglect when your kid screws up big time.

Child Neglect Laws in Virginia

Code of Virginia § 18.2-371.1 describes how parents, not children, are held accountable:

  1. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 who by willful act or willful omission or refusal to provide any necessary care for the child’s health causes or permits serious injury to the life or health of such child is guilty of a Class 4 felony. For purposes of this subsection, “serious injury” includes but is not limited to (i) disfigurement, (ii) a fracture, (iii) a severe burn or laceration, (iv) mutilation, (v) maiming, (vi) forced ingestion of dangerous substances, and (vii) life-threatening internal injuries. …
  2. 1. Any parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care of a child under the age of 18 whose willful act or omission in the care of such child was so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

Both levels of neglect are considered felonies, not misdemeanors. The punishments for these are also described, in Virginia Code § 18.2-10:

The authorized punishments for conviction of a felony are:

(d) For Class 4 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than 10 years and, subject to subdivision (g), a fine of not more than $100,000 …

(f) For Class 6 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the jury or the court trying the case without a jury, confinement in jail for not more than 12 months and a fine of not more than $2,500, either or both.

Deja Taylor received a two-year sentence; Ebony Parker, the Newport News assistant principal, could face up to five years in prison on each count if she is found guilty. Observers have not lost sight of the irony that the school employee is at risk of a longer sentence than the negligent mother.

What Are Your Parental Responsibilities?

Avoiding criminal neglect of your own child is fairly straightforward. You may encounter more pushback from older children than from younger ones. Some basic tips and strategies include:

  • Locking up all weapons and ensuring your children cannot get to them
  • Knowing where your children are at all times
  • Keeping communication clear between yourself and your children
  • Knowing the other children your child associates with
  • Keeping a running record of your pattern of support, intervention, protection, and correction of your child
  • Maintaining financial records showing your purchases of food, clothing, toys, sports equipment, uniforms, lessons, and other supports for your child’s wellbeing
  • Knowing healthy and legal ways to implement correction, discipline, and punishment for misbehavior
  • Communicating clearly and openly with your child’s teachers

Facing Charges for Criminal Child Neglect

If you know your child vandalized a neighbor, shoplifted, or bullied another child, the faster you and your child confront the problem, the better.

If you suspect your child committed some heinous act, you and your child should use a lawyer to take full responsibility for exactly what your child did and no more.

Your attorney can help clarify matters:

  • Distinguishing between intentional neglect and accidents
  • Collecting evidence bolstering your position
  • Identifying false accusations and the motives behind them

Whatever you are facing, your attorney is your strongest ally.

The Right to Privacy

We started this discussion by pointing out the Fourth Amendment’s right to privacy. You enjoy many forms of privacy as an adult. Your child — a legal minor — has no right to privacy except in some socially acceptable areas (you cannot barge in on your teenager using the toilet, for example).

If you bought your child’s cell phone, you can track it, add apps to see what your child views online, and confiscate it. Your child’s bedroom is your real estate to inspect (at reasonable hours).

Finding an illicit weapon in your child’s bedroom is justification for routinely giving the room a once-over. It is also an alarm bell that you need to answer.

Federal law (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule) imposes requirements on websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age to maintain the children’s privacy.

The Firm For Men can help untangle Virginia’s child neglect laws, privacy issues, and family law matters. Call us today at (757) 383-9184 or contact us online. We serve Virginia’s men and are always seeking the best interests of Virginia’s children.