Mom charged after putting recording device in daughter's backpack
In late September, Sims says she had enough. She tells 10 On Your Side her 9-year-old daughter was getting bullied at Ocean View Elementary. She says repeated calls and emails to the school went un-returned. [...] Sims says she took actions into her own hands. She wanted to prove that nothing was being done to help her 4th grade daughter. She put a digital recorder into her daughter's backpack in hopes of catching audio from inside the classroom. "If I'm not getting an answer from you what am I left to do?" she asked. The recorder was found. The 9-year-old was moved to a new classroom and about a month later Sims was charged by police.
[...] Sims was charged with felony use of device to intercept oral communication and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The felony charge could carry five years in prison.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DeathMonkey on Thursday November 30 2017, @02:44AM (3 children)
Sounds like Virginia is a single party consent [dmlp.org] state.
I guess they're arguing the daughter didn't (or couldn't) consent?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:18AM (1 child)
Well it's been many decades since I was nine, but as I recall being too young to provide legal consent myself meant that power fell to my mother.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Sulla on Thursday November 30 2017, @04:13AM
Can I bug my car as a precaution against thieves? Children are property until 18.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:34AM
Presumably that's it, but normally in cases where children aren't allowed to consent, the parents are. Regardless of outcome, whatever the ruling is here will have impacts in the future.
Although, shame on the schools for not reporting anything back at all. Silence in cases like this is the same thing as doing nothing. Why bother reporting bullying if you don't hear that it's being dealt with or see a change in treatment of your child?