A UK teen lost a court case against his parents, who reportedly tricked him and left him in Ghana after enrolling him in a boarding school as they feared for his safety in Britain.
The two London parents became afraid that their son was becoming more involved with a gang and failed to address his behavior. They then tricked him into traveling to Ghana, got him into a strict boarding school, and left him there.
Leaving Teen in Ghana
On Thursday, a judge ruled that the parents were indeed acting in their teenage son's best interest when they left him in Ghana. The teen, who is now 14, decided to take his case to the London High Court.
This was in response to his parents' tricking him into traveling to Ghana, the couple's home country, in March last year. However, the teenager, who was born in Britain, argued to the judge that he was worse off in Ghana, both educationally and socially, according to the New York Times.
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Justice Anthony Hayden ruled that the decision falls within what he regarded as the "generous ambit of parental decision-making." He added that this was when the state had no dominion over their actions.
The father of the teen told the court that he did not want his son to be just another Black teenager who gets stabbed to death in the streets of London. This was supposedly a reference to rising concerns about knife crime in Britain and the many victims of gang-related incidents.
Parents Worry About Knife Crime in Britain
The teen said that if he were aware of what his parents were trying to do, which was to send him to a boarding school in Ghana, he would not have agreed to it. The 14-year-old boy also wrote a statement to the court, saying that he felt like he was living in hell in Ghana, BBC reported.
Justice Hayden ruled that the situation was a "sobering and rather depressing conclusion." He added that the parents were driven by "deep, obvious, and unconditional love" when they tricked their son into going to Ghana.
It was revealed that the teenage boy had poor school attendance, was aggressive, and was accused of stealing phones while he was in Britain. The court also heard that he was at risk of being groomed and was involved in Snapchat conversations that were described as "worrying," as per LBC.
