Parents May Sue Man After Their Kids Trashed His House, Stole His Stuff
On Labor Day weekend, around 300 teenagers threw a party at a vacant farmhouse in Stephentown, New York. They trashed the residence, stole property and caused an estimated $20,000 in damage, all the while posting pictures and comments on various social media. Incredibly, this is not what the teens' parents are upset about.
When the owner of the house, a former NFL offensive lineman named Brian Holloway who was in Florida at the time, found out about the party and his vandalized home, he chose not to seek punishment for the kids who perpetrated the acts. Instead, he said he was worried about the kids, not mad at them.
"Everything broken can be fixed, everything that was stolen can be replaced, but 300 lives are in trouble," Holloway told ABC.
In an effort to gather information and identify which teens were there, Holloway created a website (helpmesave300.com) where he named over 100 kids and posted pictures they had taken at the party and tweets they had written, all gleefully describing the mayhem they were inflicting on Holloway's house. The teens broke windows, urinated on carpets, scuffed up wooden floors with beer kegs, spray-painted walls and even took pictures of themselves with stolen property.
But rather than apologize for their children's actions, some parents have contacted lawyers to see if they can pursue lawsuits against Holloway for posting the kids' names and images. Holloway was surprised that the parents took that route, rather than be a bit more helpful.
"Parents have threatened me," Holloway said. "Your kids are in my house breaking and stealing my stuff, and you are mad at me because I posted pictures that they took and posted themselves of them partying and tearing things up?"
One item of particular value that was stolen that night, an eagle statue that was part of a memorial to Holloway's stillborn grandson, has been returned.