Florida Police Find 8-Year-Old Boy Alone On Jet Ski, Father Charged

A Florida father is facing a misdemeanor charge for allegedly allowing his 8-year-old son to operate a personal watercraft by himself, authorities said.

The Sarasota Police Department on Monday shared body-worn camera video from a Marine Patrol officer encountering the young boy alone on a personal watercraft off the coast of Lido Key on June 14. According to the sheriff’s office, it was a “busy weekend with rough currents.”

“Where’s your parents?” an officer asks the boy, who points off camera in response.

“Can you take me to them?” the officer asks. The boy then leads the officer to his father.

“So that was your son on the Jet Ski?” an officer asks.

The man confirms the boy is his son, and says, “I’m sorry.”

“I really don’t think that he’s legal to ride, right? But we have been using Jet Skis on the lake for the last few years,” the man says. “He’s very proficient.”

The man confirms the boy is only eight years old, however, and the legal minimum age to operate a personal watercraft is 14.

“It’s illegal for to allow a person under 14 years of age to operate a personal watercraft and it’s a second-degree misdemeanor,” police said. “As a result, the father of the boy will have to appear in court.”