I don’t think it’s much different than gambling. Halacha holds a gambler regrets losing and is only betting because he thinks he will win (asmachta). This kid likely has no idea how the real world works and got in way over his head. He’s responsible for making a really dumb decision, but the punishment is usually way too harsh for the crime, hence the pidyon. It’s a tough call, but we all make mistakes, sometimes way bigger than we can handle and Hashem forgives us and bails us out. We should try to emulate Hashem and we will ultimately succeed. My $0.02.
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