i was hiding my runaway friend and we lied about her identity, can i get arrested?

[Guest]

Okay so im 13 years old and hes 14 and he gets abused he got punched in the face for having gauges and he called his older sister crying. his older sister was a runaway too she got abused she told him to run away that he shouldn't be there anymore he was so scared he peed his bed i seen him have bruises all over his arms,face and legs now hes hinding at mines but since his parents came here two times he jumped the wall into our neighbor's backyard and hid behind their shed for hours since they keep going around the block for him and he calls his older sister for advice and what to do shes called cps to many times they look at the case and noticed the similarities between the files a worker came to his house and somehow they found everything okay after he hit him with a belt and his mom just stared so now were here he's now at someone else's house he has to stay hidden for atleast a month so his sister can come to our state and pick him up and take him back to her house

[ccsmod13]

Hi there, thanks for reaching out. It sounds like you have been trying to help your friend out and you are concerned for his safety, but you are also worried about possible consequences. We are not legal experts by any means, but we can share some general information with you. If your friend's parents filed a runaway report, then your friend could be returned home if he was found by the police. There is a possibility that his parents could press harboring a runaway charges against someone who was knowingly hiding him. This does not mean you would be arrested. We do encourage you to talk to your parents if you have not already about your friend's situation so that they can be aware of what is going on and help. If police do try to return your friend home, he can tell them that he doesn't feel safe with his parents and that he is being physically abused.

Your friend also has the option of filing another abuse report. Sometimes multiple reports that document ongoing abuse can lead to intervention as well as evidence of the abuse like pictures of bruises or marks. You or your friend can call the national child abuse hotline at 1-800-422-4453 for more information and help filing a report.