@trickysitu,
trickysitu wrote:
To all that have been so kind to offer up a solution to my dilema....
going to spend a few more days pondering the situation.
But I think I really know the right thing to do,
just need the encouragement for all of you.
Thanks again....I'll keep ya posted
Tricky:
BE CAREFUL !
This might possibly be
DANGEROUS.
We don 't know whether this is felonious,
with possibly
severe and permanent consequences.
Its e z for posters to advise u here to call the police or to go around confessing to crimes
or pointing the finger at your child;
thay have no liability exposure.
Their children r safe.
Thay can just forget about it, after this thread is finished.
We don 't know whether u might and your child might have such exposure, possibly in felony.
We don 't know whether there might also be civil liability, in tort.
We don t know whether she will become disabled from getting licensure for future professional licenses
or suffer other ill effects, maybe exclusion from some jobs, or from educational institutions, or not, etc., etc., fines and/or imprisonment or not.
We don 't know whether
YOU might also, as an accessory after the fact, arguably in possession of the stolen property.
To whom do u owe your LOYALTY ?
To society ?
To the law ?
or to yourself and to your child ?
I have never had children, but if (for example) my mother
had been in that situation, for sure I 'd subordinate the law to her well-being.
The law woud have come in
a very distant second to my mother 's well-being.
If u rat-out your child to the property owners,
do u think that she will ever trust u again for the rest of your life ?
Do u believe that she will see u as
TREACHEROUS:
as an enemy whose loyalty is to the law and to society, rather than to your own blood ?
If she knows, or later finds out, information about u that u 'd rather keep confidential, will she respect your privacy?
or will she return the favor ?
Is it worth it to introduce strife into your family? U must decide that.
If I were in your situation, I 'd consider discussing the return of the stolen property
in a way that
cannot be traced back to u nor to your child
and consider having an earnest conversation with her about the merits of avoiding a life of crime,
but remember that your natural loyalty is
TO HER;
let society be damned.
If u permit this information to fall into the hands of the owners of the property, or of the police,
we don 't know whether that might have very painful,
deleterious and permanent results for both of u.
You and your daughter have a constitutional right to avoid uttering any self-incriminatory statements.
Anything that u say can and possibly
WILL be used against u in a court of law, civilly and/or criminally.
U have control of the situation
UNTIL u spill the proverbial beans.
Then, control passes
out of your hands and u can only hope and wish and shudder.
Seek the professional advice of an attorney of your state.
He can take the time to do whatever legal research is necessary,
examining the applicable law of whatever state u live in,
and apply it to the facts of your case, as will be revealed
in his interviews of yourself and of your daughter,
which no one on this board has done,
neither as to the law, nor as to the facts.
He will be bound to keep your secrets.
David
