Protecting a Kid Can be a Crime
On May 19, we wrote about an emerging trend to find parents civilly and criminally liable for the criminal or tortious conduct of their children. Teen Management & The Summer of ‘26 | Pennsylvania Divorce and Domestic Relations Blog The Summer of 2026 had provided some new and concerning twists to that plot.
On July 26, 10 adults and juveniles affiliated with the Cheltenham High School football program were charged with penetrating a teammate’s rectum with a broom handle. The adults included coaches who had conspired to prevent the event from becoming public. The preliminary hearing was held this week and the charges were sustained. The coaches of the team have been dismissed and the season has been cancelled. The program is in tatters.
On August 17, the Attorney General brought charges against 14 individuals in connection with a Penn State fraternity drug ring. Among those charged was the managing partner of a 20 attorney Pittsburgh based law firm. The lawyer is the parent of a Penn State student and has been charged with tampering with and destroying evidence as well as obstruction of justice. One of the charges is a felony.
We have seen this before in the context of parents arming their kids with weapons. And we should note that the football coaches were not parenting when the incident at Cheltenham occurred. But in each incident adults appear to have intervened to “protect” friends and family only to find their careers and financial well-being cast deep into harm’s way.
We all seem to pretend that we don’t live in an age of video and text messaging. The hearing on the football hazing included video and the victim’s testimony of a call from four adult coaches advising him to not tell his parents but let the coaches “handle it.” The coaches texted each other before that call was made.
Some of the children charged in the football incident are juveniles. Others are adults. The adults face a criminal record likely to last a lifetime and today we live in a world where criminal records including charges are easily accessed. Case Search
No matter how you strike it, lives have been ruined because adults underestimate the harm that elder teens and young adults can do. We also pressure ourselves to respond to every text or message from a child without pausing to make certain the response is appropriate. The natural response is always to protect the child. But, the first response has imperiled legal and teaching careers as well as football programs affecting the school and the league in which it plays.