This matter is sad on so many levels:
1) clearly the kid was traumatized, but that was obviously the intent of the exercise,
2) the "scaring for life" is shared by the whole family as well as the coworker,
3) the state (via police and DA) is clearly trying to inflict their own brand of trauma and terror on the whole family, and their damages are not just physiological, but financial, and will very likely impact them socially for a very long time.
All of the responsible actors (family and state) went overboard and everyone did so in what they felt was the best interest of the kid, but obviously NONE of it is serving any short term good and the likelihood is that the "kidnapping" in all of its idiocy will likely serve as a far better lesson for the kid then the mass arrest, persecution, and prosecution of his family in an attempt to correct their internal injustice.
Depending how the narrative is written the story is either bad or worse, but the underlined fact is the child was not in any real or meaningful danger. The intent of the family is clear they were trying to protect their family member. As more rational and logical minds try to judge the family's foolish they should also hear of all of the child abduction stories to get a better understanding of how their fears provoked such irrational behavior.
It should not take a police officer, a DA, much less a criminal court judge to see this was just a case of magnificent stupidity. Unless the family has a history of child abuse this should not have risen above a civil matter (family services).
The wicked irony is through all of this the kid is now truly taken from his family, traumatize for substantially longer than 4 hours, and placed with real "strangers" who actually care less than his family about his actual welfare.
The bail provisions were additionally wicked, I'd really like to hear the whole story including the back story (family history).
Well, in the least, the coworker assaulted the kid with a gun by threatening to shoot him if he didn't stop crying. And also threatening to nail him to the wall of a shed is assault, and tying him up is felonious restraint. The fact the family asked this guy to "kidnap" him makes them culpable for these actions as well. I think the charges against all four actors are justified on those counts.
