Ga. Mom Arrested After 10-Year-Old Son Walked into Town by Himself

A Georgia mom was stunned when police arrested her after her 10-year-old son walked less than a mile away from home by himself.

Brittany Patterson told her story to NBC News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Business Insider. She tells the outlets that she plans to fight a charge of reckless conduct, which could land her in jail for up to a year if she’s convicted.

On Oct. 30, while Patterson had taken another one of her kids to a doctor’s appointment, her son Soren left the family’s home in Mineral Bluff, Ga., and went into town, according to the outlets. Patterson was notified when the Fannin County Sheriff’s Office called her to tell her where her son was.

“It’s not a super dangerous or even dangerous at all stretch of road,” Patterson said to NBC News. “I wasn’t terrified for him or scared for his safety.”

Soren was driven home by deputies and apologized for the miscommunication with his mother, which Patterson thought marked the end of the ordeal. But officers later returned and she was put in handcuffs, she said.

Patterson told Business Insider that after being arrested in front of her son, she was taken to jail, where she had to change into an orange jumpsuit.

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Fannin County jail records indicate that Patterson was arrested and later released on Oct. 30. She tells NBC that she was released on $500 bond.

According to the outlets, citing Patterson, authorities have urged her to sign a safety plan, which would require her to make sure her children are under a constant watchful eye.

She told NBC she will not sign the form and will fight the charge.

“This is not right, I did nothing wrong,” Patterson said. “I’m going to fight for that.”

A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money to for Patterson. It has raised more than $40,000.

“Are all parents going to have to put GPS on their child?” Patterson’s attorney David DeLugas told NBC. “The parents get to decide for their children unless it is unreasonably dangerous.”