11 Year Old Served For Trespassing To Get To Her Bus Stop Faster

An 11-year-old girl in Massachusetts was served by police with three no-trespass orders after frequently cutting through her neighbors yard to get to and from her school bus stop more quickly.

Krystal Blanchard, mother of 11-year old Autumn, was unaware of the issue until police came knocking on her door to serve her daughter some pink papers. Blanchard is astonished that it came to this before she was informed of the problem. She said, “I can’t imagaine why it had to go to this level. Someone should have spoken to me.”

The Chief of Police, David Guillemette blamed the situation on poor communication. “I would have preferred it would have been handled with more tact,” said Guillemette. He also said he thinks the police should have had a sit-down with Blanchard beforehand. Police did say that the neighbors asked the sixth grader to walk around the perimeter and take the street, but Autumn ignored their wishes– like a lot of 11-year olds would. These conversations were never taken to her mother.

Autumn Blanchard, served with three pink slips

Autumn explained that cutting through yards quickened her walk and she, “just wanted to get home and be warm inside my house.” She didn’t damage her neighbors property and didn’t cause neighborhood disruption when cutting through the yards and makes her mother wonder if maybe something else prompted this rash action.

Blanchard explained that her family is new to the area. She thinks maybe the neighbors aren’t welcoming to the new family that has brightly colored hair. Krystal let’s her daughter express herself by dying her hair and Autumn currently has a couple colors in her hair. Krystal also dyes her hair and has some piercings.

Autumn and her mother, Krystal Blanchard

“That’s the only thing I can think of, which I think is ridiculous,” said Autumn’s mother. She says her daughter is “polite” and stays out of trouble. However now, Autumn can be arrested for up to 30 days and fined $100 if caught using her neighbors property to get to her bus stop again.

The problem with a case like this is that you can never really know if it was discrimination or a privacy issue. While trespassing is illegal and neighbors had every right to proceed the way they did, do you think pressing charges against a minor before talking to a parent is right? Let Conrad & Kacie know on the WBTI Facebook page!