A Loudoun County couple is off the hook after being criminally charged with not getting their kids to school on time.
Within a year, Mark and Amy Denicore’s three children had almost 160 combined tardies, including 30 within two months.
But charges against the Denicores were dismissed Thursday.
“Whatever the commonwealth’s happy with, we’re happy with,” said Wayde Byard, of the county school district. “We’re about partnership, not punishment. This was never about punishment.”
According to the commonwealth, the children were only tardy once after their parents were slapped with court paperwork.
The Denicores live about a half mile – or a two-minute drive – from Waterford Elementary School.
Mark Denicore is happy the charges were dismissed, but he wanted them to be dismissed under his terms.
“There is actually no law in Virginia that deals with tardiness,” he said.
But two other judges who recused themselves from the case said the code under which the Denicores were charge is valid.
“It’s not really about my name,” Mark Denicore said. “It’s about clarifying the law. The judge had an opportunity to clarify the law here, and he decided not to do it.”
The judge told him that he refused to stick his neck out on the line for him and that he doesn't have the authority to change the code. If the Denicores want something done about it, they should take the issue to a state senator, the judge said.
So will the Denicore children continue making it to school on time?
“We are imperfect parents and we have imperfect children,” their father said.
