You're absolutely right! In the states where theft by deception is chargeable, there would still be a gray area because of the intention of pawning vs selling. Op admitted in their post that they knew their parents would not ever get the items out of pawn, which means they knew there was a risk of losing it overall either way. I am in no way sticking up for the parents, just stating what case an attorney may be able to make in regards to that specific charge.