Virginia mom-of-five Karyann Parkinson has been convicted of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” after allowing her five-year-old son to walk to a pond by himself through a gated community. As reported by Reason.com, Parkinson has also been placed on the national child abuse and neglect registry, where she must remain for 7 years.
The incident took place in June in Williamsburg, Virginia, when Parkinson was eight months pregnant with her fifth child. On the day in question, she and her son Sam went for a bike ride and stopped to allow Sam to collect goose feathers from the path near their community pond. Soon after they left, Sam asked if he could return to the pond to get some more.
Parkinson agreed. The trip back to the pond is described as a “short walk” along a sidewalk separated from the street, and across two crosswalks. Parkinson was entirely confident Sam could make the trip safely, as she’d seen him do it “hundreds of times”, and repeatedly that very day. She then returned home to make lunch.
“A 5-year-old child can never be unsupervised.”
However, a passerby saw Sam making his way to the pond alone and alerted the gated community security. A security guard promptly intercepted Sam and (as per the report) told him that “his mom had done something she wasn’t supposed to, and that bad people would want to take him if he was out alone.” As Parkinson put it: “This scared the crap out of him.”
When Sam was returned home, Parkinson said she argued with the security guard, saying there’s nothing in the housing association rules saying a child can’t be out alone. He promptly called the police, and soon there were three cop cars, a security vehicle, and a team of Child Protective Services (CPS) workers at her house. Her husband was called, and she says he told them “that kids need to be able to take reasonable risks in order to grow up non-anxious.” He says CPS told him “a 5-year-old child can never be unsupervised.”
The CPS investigated her for abuse and neglect, and the cops charged her with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. During her trial last week, her attorney Andrew Gordon argued that the entire case was predicated on a fear of hypothetical dangers rather than any actual ones faced by Sam, and during the trial the CPS worker admitted that Sam appeared to be happy and healthy on his walk.
Regardless, the judge convicted her of the delinquency of a minor charge, which comes with a six-month jail sentence. He immediately suspended this sentence so long as Parkinson doesn’t commit any further offences and remains in compliance with CPS conditions. However, this conviction has the potential to affect her future, potentially prevent her from volunteering at her children’s school, and that it will block her from getting her law license.
Both the county family services specialist assigned to the case and the prosecutor in Parkinson’s trial declined to comment due to confidentiality requirements. The Parkinson family has lodged an appeal and that decision is pending.
Published: Sep 3, 2026 06:14 am