A 5-year-old walked to a neighborhood pond alone. His mother was later convicted and placed on an abuse registry

A Virginia mother is appealing a conviction after she allowed her 5-year-old son to walk roughly half a mile alone to a pond in their gated community. The case has now put her name and her son’s on the state’s Abuse and Neglect Registry for seven years, according to The Washington Post.

Karyann Parkinson, 36, said she allowed her son Sam to make the walk because she believed he was capable of doing it safely. The decision led to police involvement, a criminal conviction and a substantiated child-welfare finding that Parkinson is now appealing.

The incident happened in Williamsburg, Virginia. Parkinson said she and Sam had gone on a walk through their neighborhood earlier that day, passing several ponds and crossing the street multiple times. After they returned home, Sam wanted to go back out to collect goose feathers, and Parkinson allowed him to make the trip alone.

Then a security guard showed up at the door

Parkinson said she started making lunch while Sam was gone. About 20 to 30 minutes later, he returned home with a security guard after a neighbor spotted him outside alone and contacted neighborhood security.

Police later returned to her home with a warrant for her arrest. Online court records show Parkinson was subsequently charged and convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

A judge in Williamsburg and James City County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court sentenced Parkinson to six months of suspended jail time. She had declined a withheld finding that would have required her to agree that the evidence was sufficient for a guilty finding while leaving the misdemeanor charge pending, according to Williamsburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green. Parkinson is appealing the conviction.

The criminal case was not the only consequence. The James City County Department of Social Services also made a substantiated finding against Parkinson, resulting in her and Sam being added to Virginia’s Abuse and Neglect Registry for seven years, according to Parkinson. 

The case is particularly notable because Virginia law was amended to address children engaging in independent activities without adult supervision. The issue of where that line is drawn has also appeared in other recent cases involving parents facing serious child neglect charges.