Internet Says Parent Should Press Charges Against Son's 18-Year-Old Ex in Viral Post

A parent has taken to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole" forum following a dispute with their son's ex-girlfriend, an 18-year-old who allegedly keyed his car.

The anonymous parent hopes to see justice served—but they're wondering if pressing charges against the teenager would take things too far.

The post has prompted strong feedback from readers, racking up 16,800 upvotes and over 2,100 comments at the time of writing.

As online legal information source FindLaw notes, keying someone's car is "most definitely" a criminal act. "Depending on the value of damage you cause to a car, you could be charged with simple vandalism or a serious felony," the publication said.

The anonymous Redditor, known only as u/Suspicious-Post-7690, explained that their 17-year-old -- who has his own car --recently broke up with his girlfriend because he developed feelings for someone else.

"My son dumped his ex-girlfriend because he began to have feelings for another girl," explained the parent. "He spoke to me and I made sure to tell him to dump her lightly and not to hurt her feelings before trying things out with the other girl."

When he broke the news to his now-ex, explaining that he had feelings for someone else, she was "obviously... not happy." In retaliation, the Redditor alleged that the ex-girlfriend keyed his car and caused serious damage.

"She ended up keying my son's car," they wrote. "I'm talking to the point where it is completely f***ed up. She carved my son's new girlfriend's name onto the doors and called her a s***. She also drew a man with a very small penis and labelled it my son's name."

In addition, she allegedly "broke one of the windows and poured a soft drink into it."

The Redditor happened to arrive at the scene right "as she's pouring in the soft drink" and "immediately [called] the cops." The ex-girlfriend was arrested and "had to pay bail."

However, the parent wants to push the punishment further. "I'm feeling like pressing charges because it's my son's first car and we don't want to spend much money on a new car," they wrote.

Meanwhile, the ex's mother is furious at the parent for involving the police. She reportedly came to the Redditor's home, screamed at them, and called them "a monster for calling the cops on a black girl." The teen's mom also alleged that the Redditor's son "cheated and deserved to have his car ruined."

Concluded the Redditor: "I don't feel in the slightest bit bad for pressing charges and ruining this girl's life, because she's acting like a complete psycho."

Readers were quick to weigh in on the contentious topic, and many commenters jumped to offer the anonymous parent their support.

"NTA. She committed a crime, and needs to take responsibility for her life," wrote Ok_Smell_8260, putting it simply.

Echoed u/Disastrous-Fuel-2757: "NTA, as much as people like to think so, being cheated on or dumped is not an excuse to damage people's property."

Some, however, found the saga implausible: some called the post "troll-bait" while others noted that actually keying entire phrases and drawings into the surface of a car is actually incredibly difficult to pull off.

Newsweek has reached out to u/Suspicious-Post-7690 for additional comment.