Charges Dropped After Community Rallies Around "Support Abby" on Facebook

Reckless burning charges against a developmentally delayed Woodinville teen were dismissed Tuesday morning after more than a thousand people rallied around the girl on a Facebook page.

 The “Support Abby” page described the situation this way:

Abby is a 17 year old high school junior - she is also significantly and globally developmentally delayed. Although she is technically in the 11th grade, Abby functions at a second grade level both academically and socially. On February 16th, Abby accidentally set fire to her home with a barbecue lighter when she tried to kill a bug that was in her room. There was significant damage to the house... and all that was inside. Abby and her family have had to move out of their home while it is being renovated.
In an absurd turn of events, The King County Procecutor has now filed a class C felony against her, charging Abby with "reckless burning"! Abby is being arraigned on Tuesday April 17th. Please show support for her and her family by liking this page and getting the word out about this injustice.

The page, just launched Monday, had 1,154 “likes” by 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office, told Patch that the reckless burning charges shouldn't have been filed.

"We re-examined the case, and she doesn’t have the mental cability to commit the crime," Donohoe said Tuesday morning. "Her mental state should have been taken into account, and it wasn’t."