Common Halloween Crimes Committed by Minors
There are Halloween pranks and hijinks, and then there's Halloween crime. Often there will be a fine line between the two.
As parents, before you let your little to medium-sized troublemakers loose on the neighborhood, you may want to discuss some of the most common pranks that are actually crimes. Not that your child will be doing any of it, but in case they see it, you'll want them to be informed.
TP'ing a House
This is one of the most boring forms of vandalism out there. And yes, TP'ing a house is vandalism. And since your kid is not Banksy, if they don't get away with it, you're both getting in serious trouble potentially.
Going to court and dealing with juvenile probation, if you're lucky, is not worth the two seconds of fun they'll get throwing a roll of toilet paper at someone's house because they didn't get a king sized Clark Bar. And you'll probably have to be right by their side.
Throwing Eggs
Sure, throwing an egg might seem innocuous, but it can actually be a few crimes. If your kid hits a person's property, it's vandalism. If they hit a person, it's assault, or battery.
Yes, it can be comical to see a person get splattered with oozy, gooey eggs. And yes, you can say it's just a prank. But when the person hasn't consented to being hit with an egg, or if it's not a true accident, it can result in a serious criminal charge.
Stealing Candy
Older kids can often be notorious for picking on littler kids to steal candy on Halloween. Sure, even if there are full size candy bars in that pillowcase, it's not a major theft. But in terms of penalties for theft, the what is less important than the how.
Stealing something away from a person directly is often charged much more seriously than stealing something from a store, or from a person's unattended bag, regardless of value. Even though it's just taking candy from a kid, it can still result in serious aggravated theft charges, which can result in actual jail time.
Related Resources:
- Find Criminal Defense Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
- Halloween 101: Halloween DUI Checkpoints Planned (FindLaw Blotter)
- Halloween Laws: Keep Your Halloween Party Legal (FindLaw Blotter)
- Halloween Hit-and-Run: 3 Teens Killed While Trick-or-Treating (FindLaw Blotter)
