You break it, you buy it. Teen learns the hard way.

[Rain Man]

The part about letting him have a pay schedule made me laugh.

In all seriousness, how do you punish someone for a crime like this? Prison seems off target (maybe), but $36 million is basically a life sentence. Maybe that's appropriate, but it was one bad decision by a 15 year old.


https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/te...rnd/index.html

Teen who started fire that burned 48,000 acres ordered to pay $36 million

When you play with fire, there are bound to be consequences.

For one teenager, that consequence comes with the jarring price tag of $36 million.

On Monday, an Oregon judge ordered the boy, who pleaded guilty to starting the Eagle Creek wildfire last year, to pay $36,618,330.24 in restitution to cover the damages.

The teen said he tossed fireworks in the woods while hiking on Eagle Creek trail on Sept. 2, 2017, according to court documents obtained by CNN. One of those fireworks ignited the massive wildfire in Oregon, which burned more than 48,000 acres.

The Vancouver, Washington, youth, who was 15 at the time of the incident, appeared at a hearing on Thursday. He is not being named because he's a minor. The 11 claims from the state and other parties totaled $36 million, something the teen's attorney called absurd, according to CNN affiliate KOIN.

The teen's attorney, Jack Morris, said the hefty fine violated the Oregon and US Constitutions, citing the Eighth Amendment, which protects people from excessive fines and "cruel and unusual punishment," according to the judge's written opinion.

Hood River County Circuit Court Judge John A. Olson wrote in his opinion that the judgment doesn't violate the constitution. "The restitution is clearly proportionate to the offense because it does not exceed the financial damages caused by the youth," he wrote.

"I'm satisfied that the restitution ordered in this case bears a sufficient relationship to the gravity of the offenses for which the youth was adjudicated," he wrote.

CNN tried to contact Morris, the defense lawyer, on Monday but he did not call back.

The order says the following organizations and people should be receiving money:

$5,000 to Iris Schenk
$8,111.44 to Allstate Insurance
$31,550.90 to Oregon State Parks
$100,000 to Heuker Properties
$168,000 to Trail Club of Oregon
$1,048,877.52 to Union Pacific Railroad
$1,643,035.38 to Oregon State Fire Marshal
$12,500,000 to Oregon Department of Transportation
$21,113,755 to US Forest Service

If the teen cannot pay the millions in full, the court has said he could establish a pay schedule through the Hood River Juvenile Department.

In February, the teenager apologized in court and was sentenced to five years probation and 1,920 hours of community service with the U.S. Forest Service, reported CNN affiliate KPTV.

[displacedinMN]

eat a tide pod kid

[kccrow]

Server the probation and community service, then move to Vancouver.

[JohnnyHammersticks]

He should check his emails to see if a long-lost foreign relative or a mega-wealthy Nigerian Prince needs some assistance. A lot of times, because of overseas banking regulations, if you wire them a couple grand, they'll send you a few million dollars back. It's pocket change to them.

[JoeyChuckles]

How did they catch the kid, did he confess initially?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by JoeyChuckles

How did they catch the kid, did he confess initially?

I'm curious about that as well. I'm not sure what proof they would have, and he's probably regretting his confession. I bet he didn't think it would end up like this.

[TimeForWasp]

It is obvious to me they are just trying to scare the kid and make an example.

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm curious about the conversation he and his parents had afterwards. Parents, what do you say to your kid when he's just been ordered to pay $36 million in restitution? This is a genuine question, not a rhetorical one.

Erase your name from his birth certificate and move to another state while he is asleep.

[seclark]

if you ask me, the ****in kid got off easy.
sec

[bigjosh]

35 million of it to be paid to the government. Give me a ****ing break.

Sent from my LGMP450 using Tapatalk

[Best22]

Kid shouldn't have to pay that for a mistake. It was a mistake by a dumb 15 year old and he ADMITTED it.

If it was intentional, then it's a different story. No one should ever be punished like this over negligence (unless someone is a professional and is negligent with the equipment they were trained to properly used).

Far too much for this kid. Hope this is settled in some way

[seclark]

Originally Posted by bigjosh

35 million of it to be paid to the government. Give me a ****ing break.

Sent from my LGMP450 using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Best22

Kid shouldn't have to pay that for a mistake. It was a mistake by a dumb 15 year old and he ADMITTED it.

If it was intentional, then it's a different story. No one should ever be punished like this over negligence (unless someone is a professional and is negligent with the equipment they were trained to properly used).

Far too much for this kid. Hope this is settled in some way

i hear what you're both saying. but before it's all over, the kid's getting off easy.
sec

[Graystoke]

Raise your hand if this could have happened to you when you were 15.
Insert Raised hand gif

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm curious about the conversation he and his parents had afterwards. Parents, what do you say to your kid when he's just been ordered to pay $36 million in restitution? This is a genuine question, not a rhetorical one.

“Not my kid.”

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by ClevelandBronco

I hope Iris is first and not last on the list.

I wonder what he did to Iris? She is the only private individual on the list.

[Tombstone RJ]

I think the kid should pay $ back to the private citizens and businesses that sustained damages and/or financial burden. But he shouldn't have to pay the government institutions jack. They already get paid by him and his parents, and everyone else.

Judge is being an assclown.