However, lying to the cops when they knock on your door is.
I don’t know exactly who did what. If the boy and girl hid in the secret room, why is he more culpable than she? If he helped her evade detection, then he only did something wrong if evading detection is wrong. Then she did it too.
No doubt the mother is way wrong here.
Look at the ongoing case where the 17 year old left home out of fear for her life because her Islamist parents were upset that she had converted to Christianity.
“However, lying to the cops when they knock on your door is.”
Is lying to the cops illegal when telling them the truth could amount to self incrimination? I guess they could have just said the 5th Amendment.