Virginia mother appeals child abuse registry placement after incident with son

A Virginia mother, Karyann Parkinson, is appealing a criminal charge and her placement on the state's child abuse and neglect registry after her 5-year-old son was stopped by security while walking alone in their gated community. Parkinson stated that her son, Sam, was walking along a familiar neighborhood path to collect goose feathers when a security guard found him and brought him home. Following the incident, police and Child Protective Services became involved. Although Parkinson, who was eight months pregnant at the time, had her six-month jail sentence suspended, the charge remains. She was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor, and placed on Virginia's Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry for seven years. Parkinson acknowledged the concern surrounding a child alone near a body of water but clarified that she did not send him to play at the pond. "I sent him down the path that happens to go past the pond to collect goose feathers..." she explained. Parkinson expressed that the situation escalated beyond her expectations, leading to significant intervention. The lengthy placement on the registry is particularly challenging for her, as it prevents her from volunteering in Sam's classroom until he reaches sixth grade. She emphasized the need to move away from parenting driven by fear. Following the incident, she noted that her son was initially shaken up but has since recovered, stating, "Now it’s just a blip on his radar. It’s not really a part of his life anymore."