# Teenage runaway and abusive parent...well maybe not. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565 "2014-05-29T16:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/1 "2014-05-29T16:07:19Z")
So this adopted kid in Nolensville, TN runs away from home because his mom made him do 1,500 push ups for lying about making toast. _Yeah, how dare he make toast._ Oh, and while he was performing the push-ups, mom is continually slapping him on his face and head. So kid is gone for several days, there’s a manhunt for him and he’s located about 10 miles away from home. After authorities question the 16 year old, he describes that he isn’t being fed, and the punishment he received for making some toast. So mom is arrested for _ **child** _ abuse and the teenager and his little sister and 17 year old brother (all adopted) are removed from the home and placed in foster care. So today, mom is in court, and presents evidence that the 16 year old is not really 16, but 18. She lied about his age to get him into a private school. Turns out the kid didn’t even know how old he really was. The judge dismissed the charges because the state failed to prove that the victim was a juvenile and further added, “It sounds to me like this young man and his mother had some communication problems”. > **[Nolensville mom accused of abusing son has charges dismissed](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2014/05/28/judge-calls-unusual-nolensville-case-perry-mason-moment/9684603/)** > > Child abuse, neglect charges against Susan Smithburg dismissed today in Williamson court. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/2 "2014-05-29T20:20:46Z")
It doesn’t sound like the fact that the abuse occurred is in question. Looks like the window is open now to prosecute her for domestic violence. She might still lose her kids, and probably should. I can’t imagine how much neglect/abuse this kid must have been put through (both before and after the adoption) to forget his own _age_. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/3 "2014-05-29T20:35:38Z")
I dunno. Dude made toast. Get away with toast and soon your making frozen waffles. Toast is a gateway food. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/4 "2014-05-30T00:02:41Z")
And not to mention she falsified some documents about his age. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/5 "2014-05-30T12:22:44Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > And not to mention she falsified some documents about his age. Is it illegal to lie to a private company about your kid’s age? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/6 "2014-05-30T14:00:01Z")
If she’s doing it to get something she wouldn’t otherwise get, it’s probably fraud, at least. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/7 "2014-05-30T20:07:54Z")
Surely the state should have a record of his age, so they can report it to the court, if he was adopted through them. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/8 "2014-05-31T02:53:11Z")
Are you sure this wasn’t in Florida? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/9 "2014-06-01T07:04:19Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Is it illegal to lie to a private company about your kid’s age? Since it was used to deny the school their legal right to decline students above a certain age, I’d say it’s still fraud. If you are allowed to lie in those situations, how could such requirements even exist? I doubt we’re talking just verbal lies here. I would expect a private school to want documentation. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/10 "2014-06-01T08:22:01Z")
Thats good news for the [DEL]kid[/DEL] adult. He can pack his bags and leave. Make toast anytime he wants. I hope somebody told him he doesn’t have to take his mom’s abusive crap anymore. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2014, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teenage-runaway-and-abusive-parent-well-maybe-not/689565/11 "2014-06-01T08:44:09Z")
Hmm. Mom adopts kids; apparently is affluent enough to be able to send them to private high school. Wait, is this the mom from _The Blind Side_?