Why West Des Moines Mom Called Cops When Smartphone Failed

Here’s what a West Des Moines mom did: She called the cops.

According to a March 23 report on file at the West Des Moines Police Department, the mother of a 16-year-old asked police to file fifth-degree theft charges against her son.

She reportedly discovered pornography had been downloaded from two sites to her Droid smartphone when it failed and she attempted a factory reset.

The incident raises a dilemma for parents. Here’s a story ABC News did last December, when millions of American teenagers received smartphones as gifts. What would you do?

When she questioned her son, he reportedly admitted that he had memorized her bank debit card number, which he’d been allowed to use for some approved purchases, to pay for the pornographic downloads.

That resulted in $43.95 in charges to his mom’s phone and a $100 replacement charge for the Droid, according to Officer Jess Bill’s report.