Dispatch #1 from Bizzaro World

On July 22, 2007, the online version of the Oregonian reported that two 13-year old boys were being charged with sex abuse for running through the halls swatting the backsides of girls. They were initially charged with felony abuse, but the charges have since been reduced to 10 misdemeanor charges. The boys face up to 10 years in juvenile detention plus being listed on the sex offender registry for the rest of their lives!

To highlight the outrageous actions in this case, here are a few excerpts from the article:

...a teacher's aide sent the gawky seventh-graders to the office, where the vice principal and a police officer stationed at the school soon interrogated them. After hours of interviews with students the day of the February incident, the officer read the boys their Miranda rights and hauled them off in handcuffs to juvenile jail, where they spent the next five days.

The records show that other students, boys and girls, were slapping one another's bottoms. Two of the girls identified as victims have recanted, saying they felt pressured and gave false statements to interrogators.

Certainly, bottom slapping was against school policy and the school may have been justified in suspending the boys. However, having them hauled off in handcuffs and thrown in jail for five days is INSANE! Especially when you consider the fact that the other boys AND GIRLS were doing the same thing and were apparently not charged. If that weren't repugnant enough, two of the "victims" now say they felt pressured (presumably by the police or District Attorney) and ended up giving false testimony.

What kind of world is it where middle school horseplay is treated as if it were a crime?

It's Bizzaro World.


HT: Prager