Virginia mother convicted of contributing to delinquency after child walked alone

A Virginia mother, Karyann Parkinson, was found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after allowing her 5-year-old son to walk alone to a nearby pond to collect goose feathers. The incident occurred in Ford’s Colony, a gated community in Williamsburg, Virginia.

After a neighbor reported the child walking alone to private security, the child was returned home. Following an interaction with police and Child Protective Services, Parkinson was issued a suspended jail sentence and placed on the state’s child abuse and neglect registry. Parkinson has appealed the decision. The case has drawn attention to the interpretation of laws regarding reasonable childhood independence in Virginia.