Sex Criminal At Age 6
This country has gone totally crackers. A family was battling sexual-assault charges against their 6-year-old who apparently brushed his best friend's leg or groin while playing tag. From CBS/SF, quoting the child's parent, who asked to be identified only as "Oswin":
Oswin said his child was kept in the principal's office for two hours until he confessed. He was suspended, and a sexual battery charge was placed on his permanent school record....Legally, there's no such thing as sexual assault for a six year-old in California.
It wasn't until Oswin and his wife got a lawyer that the school backed off. District officials declined to discuss specifics. They did confirm that an investigation was conducted, and that the child could not be charged with sexual battery. The claim was removed from the boy's record.
Oswin's son is attending another school now. He said he only hopes no one else will have to go through what his family did.
But they will. I typically blog several of these cases a month these days -- sexual assault charges or "weapons" charges for some kid whose granny put a paring knife in her lunch bag to cut her apple.
@freerangekids
Sadly, this is similar to the quite notorious fiasco in Wisconsin where another 6 year old boy was charged with sexual assault for playing doctor with two of his classmates.
Overall, The US isn't a bad place to live, but life here is starting to scare the hell out of me. I'm probably quite different than others; however, I've noticed myself becoming very neurotic, paranoid even.
I live in Manhattan and spend time in Jersey, all big city type places. Whenever I'm out and about now, I worry about breaking what passes for the law these days. Did I make it across the crosswalk fast enough? Oh , no! I think that's a fine! I just conducted a fairly complex banking transaction. Did I fill out IRS form IW23-9 properly? What about federal banking statutes; did I violate one? I just did some business in south Asia and wired money there. Will they think that I 'm working with Al-Quaeda? I'm constantly expecting black SUVs to swoop around the corner any minute and disappear me into some legal black hole.
We've given so much power to authority; when authority fails to act rationally the effects are devastating.
But you know what? It's conspiratorial of me, but I think that this is being done on purpose. Yeah, that's right; there's an agenda afoot. The nation is being transformed....into one massive prison.
Bars and walls everywhere, physical, mental, emotional, discursive, and political. And let's not forget the rules; please, don't forget the rules....enforced without context or reason right down to letter of the law. Why, that boy touched that young lady's lower hip! According to state legal code 67C-w1 sub-paragraph F, that constitutes sexual assault. He's a veritable rapist!
Oh, and they never stop coming, do they? The rules, I mean. Nope. Like a candy bar factory turns out Snickers by the millions day in and day out, or a GoodYear factory continues to make tires non-stop, state and federal legislatures keep churning out the rules. Every day, every week, every year....more and more. The state law code in Jersey is larger than the encyclopedia Britannica, but ignorance is never an excuse. Whoa, whoa....you're not familiar with the the federal marine mammals act of 1972, and you just tossed some chum into the water in efforts of feeding that humpback? 20 years in the joint, you federal felon piece of trash!
Eh, I'll stop here; I'm borderline incoherent at this point. I'll leave with this: By my calculations, if things continue as they are, by 2040 half of us will be in prison and the second half will be guarding the first.
Urban at January 29, 2012 10:39 AM
Did you see the little girl who was suspended for bringing a tweety-bird keychain for show and tell? The chain was about an inch long and could not in any way be used as a weapon, but some school supervisor must have seen West Side Story a few too many times.
http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice_drug-law-reform_immigrants-rights_national-security/aclu-georgia-represents-student-s
The headline in our newspaper today was a woman complaining about dogs running loose by the lake, because she is afraid of dogs. Of course she wants stricter enforcement of leash laws, even though the head of the animal control said there haven't been any real incidents in memory.
It would be a really interesting experiment if all facets of government, including policing and the military, were cut back, say 20%. Would we really notice any difference?
Eric at January 29, 2012 11:39 AM
"It would be a really interesting experiment if all facets of government, including policing and the military, were cut back, say 20%. Would we really notice any difference?"
@Eric
Hello,
Interesting question. Most people blame the government for the sorry state of affairs in our country, and they have good reason to. After all, the state has gone completely haywire. However, I think that the problem remains far too complex and profound to warrant such an easy solution.
Ultimately, I think that the problem lays with society as a whole. There are many problems here, but I think that the big one is this pervasive fear that we all live with. We're absolutely scared to death of everything, and we falsely believe that we can make ourselves infinitely safe through enacting more and more regulations and rules.
Many of these ridiculous policies have been brought about through knee-jerk reactions to rare and extreme instances of violence that, in many cases, have occurred so far in the past most people don't remember or aren't aware of them.
Taking your shoes off at the airport is a prime example of this. Adults most likely remember that Richard Reed was flying from Europe to The US and tried to detonate some explosive in his shoe. Because of this, everyone since 2002 has had to take off shoes before boarding a plane. And, we'll be doing this until kingdom come. Children don't know why we take our shoes off at the airport; they're too young to remember. To them, that's just how it is.
This reaction to aberrant anomalies compounded year after year has engendered this crazed society of legalisms that we all suffer.
Urban at January 29, 2012 12:06 PM
As usual, this story doesn't tell you anything. I want to know who saw the alleged abuse, what the best friend had to say about it, is the best friend a boy or a girl, etc, etc.
These articles tell you enough to push your buttons, but never tell you the whole story. And I'm not saying it has any merit at all, I'm just saying I want all the facts before my blood pressure goes through the roof.
Pricklypear at January 29, 2012 12:06 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/01/29/sex_criminal_at.html#comment-2943968">comment from PricklypearUnless a 6-year-old rapes some other kid with a broomstick, I don't accept that we can deem a kid a sex criminal. I don't care whether it's a girl or a boy or how touchy he got. Little children are not in control and not responsible for their actions to a great degree. They need to be dealt with appropriately when they get out of line, and this isn't by deeming them sex criminals.
I hit a kid over the head with a dustpan in third grade. (Jeannie Williker. She wouldn't sweep!) It was my first and last episode of violence (now I'm just hostile). It was dealt with appropriately: I was sent to the principal's office and told "We don't do that," and why not. I was mortified. I never did it again. (I don't even know if they told my parents. Don't think they did.)
Amy Alkon at January 29, 2012 12:15 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/01/29/sex_criminal_at.html#comment-2943970">comment from UrbanGreat point, Urban. Pretty soon, having your Fourth Amendment rights violated will seem normal, no problem. If it doesn't already to most people.
Amy Alkon at January 29, 2012 12:16 PM
"As usual, this story doesn't tell you anything. I want to know who saw the alleged abuse, what the best friend had to say about it, is the best friend a boy or a girl, etc, etc.
These articles tell you enough to push your buttons, but never tell you the whole story. And I'm not saying it has any merit at all, I'm just saying I want all the facts before my blood pressure goes through the roof."
@Pricklypear
What? What do you mean you want all the facts? The kid is 6? What do you think actually may have happened? He anally violated her with a 12 inch dildo? Jesus Christ....
Urban at January 29, 2012 12:17 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/01/29/sex_criminal_at.html#comment-2944027">comment from UrbanWhat do you think actually may have happened? He anally violated her with a 12 inch dildo? Jesus Christ....
Urban, you're my kinda people.
Amy Alkon at January 29, 2012 1:23 PM
Why isn't this principal's job in jeopardy? Isn't the ability to think for yourself one of the requirements for this (any) job? Parents at this school should be demanding a replacement. "I'm just following the rules." is not a good defence when the rules are suspect.
Ray at January 29, 2012 1:34 PM
There is a strange contradiction in Liberal reaction. An entire section of the law applies to juveniles. The theory is that a 12 year old who sets fires deserves punishment until the age of 18 or 21, after which he gets a fresh start with no record. He may have changed.
On the other hand, the schools want permanent punishment (sex offender registry) for students who are sexual or violent (drawing picures of guns) at school.
I suggest the difference. The average juvenile offender only threatens the peasants around him. The average child offender in school supposedly threatens the new Liberal elite. Punishment for those offenses must be harsh and long lasting. Teachers health and lives are at risk there.
Andrew_M_Garland at January 29, 2012 3:11 PM
Now here's a fun home video of a typical American bureaucrat enjoying a quiet afternoon with his teddy bear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsZcoODKc50&feature=related
Thank you, Robot Chicken!
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at January 29, 2012 4:25 PM
Thank goodness, this crap was not around when I was young. I would now be considered a sex criminal for doing the you show me your and I'll show you mine I did around the age of 5.
Or was it a sexual assault on me. Who convinced who to show what?
John Paulson at January 29, 2012 6:54 PM
There's so much new stuff going on today that it's possible that no one will read this, but it's been bugging me since I looked at the comments today, so here goes:
Urban, I want all the facts because stories like this one are published to get a reaction based on the information. The audio is messed up on my computer so I have to go on what was written. I looked at the related tags and all I got was this same story, and for me, it wasn't sufficient.
Now, unlike the TSA, which exists to harass people, the teachers I know have a whole lot of responsibilities, and the last thing they need is more paperwork and more media trouble. They also have rights, they also have kids, they want to get through the day just like everybody else. So yeah, I want to know how this came to the school's attention. Over judicious teacher, or taletelling kid?
And yeah, I want to know about the best friend, male or female, did he or she report this alleged incident, or did they tell a parent? None of this was in the written story.
After being bugged about this all morning, I looked at a couple of sites on childhood sexuality. I wasn't surprised be the articles, but the comments by parents were enlightening. So many were appalled by what they caught their kids doing at three, let alone six. Some of them wondering if they are raising sexually messed-up kids, and not knowing what to do.
Some of these are parents who expect the teachers to know exactly what to do. Some would want the school to ignore it, some would demand the school do something. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I would be basing my reaction solely on this little bit of information, combined with past experience that colors that reaction--for instance, if this had occurred in my home town some years ago, I would have known exactly who they were referring to, and thinking something like "oh, that kid. Well, there's a surprise."
I want to know why they were so hard on this boy. If I am expected to read the damned story, then I want to know the whole old journalistic mantra. Who, what, when, where, how, and particularly why? So sorry if you don't like it.
Pricklypear at January 30, 2012 1:46 PM
One reason the reporting on this story is short on facts is that this was kids playing and it's difficult to get to the truth of the matter from their comments.
They kept the kid in the office for two hours, pressuring a Congressional out of him. I've seen this kind of behavior from power trippy adults before, often public school 'teachers'. I wouldn't be surprised if the child never even made contact with the other, and admitted doing it because he felt he had to.
There is no 'who what when where why' when you're dealing with two six year olds after the 'guilty' one had a confession drug out of him. You'd need video to know more.
As a practical matter, kids will do things, particularly with their innocent minds, which we wouldn't do as adults. Such as play doctor or wet their pants. If you can't handle the day to day administration of such children as they learn and grow, don't go into the education profession. If you want to run a prison, go do that.
School should be a happy place with an abundance of patience and common sense and love.
Dustin at January 30, 2012 3:39 PM
I recall reading many years ago that, in Japan, any Japanese citizen was in violation of some law at that moment, but that these laws are seldom enforced - until such a citizen becomes "unpopular."
The writer of the article implied, I think, how unfair this was and we should infer our legal superiority. Well...
Allan Blackwell at January 30, 2012 3:44 PM
Just out of curiosity: does anyone have a report of a girl getting into this much trouble for kneeing a boy in the groin?
Rob Crawford at January 30, 2012 4:01 PM
1. Presumably there is a minute minority of kids that is dangerously warped (well beyond the norms of the little savages I belonged among as a boy) and should be identified as such. However, that's not a call for a school principal to make on the fly and it's not a call to be made without due process. It is statistically unlikely that the six-year-old in question belongs to that minute minority.
For trying, without due process, to permanently brand a six-year-old a sex criminal, the school principal should be fired and have their educational credentials revoked.
None of which says much about the six-year-old. Being victimized is an injustice; contrary to popular culture, it is not the stigmata of high virtue.
2. This post stirred memories that have been dormant for decades. The kid with the biggest allowance in my childhood neighborhood was a twisted, prurient little shit.
He became a minister.
gs at January 30, 2012 4:06 PM
This is prepping the new generation for a re-implimentation of the old Soviet system where the lowest petty official is the master of any citizen.
There are so many laws and they are so pervasive that everyone violates one law or another, so it's entirely up to the petty official's discretion whether or not you are prosecuted.
The next (and final) step is to remove the right of appeal and access to lawyers (or make the cost prohibitive). This is already the case in some areas.
So, then they finally have full control of the citizenry. Because they know better and need to keep the oiks in line.
Brett_McS at January 30, 2012 4:12 PM
i am sorry but sexual predotors are a severe danger in the US today. we cannot allow ANY leniency of ANY kind for sexual predators!! it is IMPORTANT that we not permit ANY TOLERANCE for this UNSPEAKABLE CRIME. if you disagree with me than i hope you KNOW that you are DEFENDING PERVERTS AND RAPISTS.
For The Kids at January 30, 2012 4:16 PM
Public school systems were invented so the stupid would be employable somewhere.
Jim at January 30, 2012 4:37 PM
When I was in Junior High (mid 70's)The boy in the desk behind me during math class snapped my bra, I turned around and kicked him in the shins. Twice. The teacher considered it a draw. End of story.
Two years later found me making out with the same boy under a pool table at a friends party.
All of it was rite of passage stuff.
debbie at January 30, 2012 4:53 PM
I hate to say it but the principal would have been a floater in the bay if it was my kid. I would have felt bad afterwords....maybe.
Bill M at January 30, 2012 4:54 PM
You are only a sexual predator if you are not on a wrestling mat. If you are on a wrestling mat, grouping is encouraged.
I am referring to a little older, 4th through 6th graders that must allow girls on the wrestling teams. How is a young boy to process the constant "Never Touch" from the schools, compared to the attack away as long as it is on a mat.
For the life of me, I cannot figure the logic on that one.
Russ Sanders at January 30, 2012 4:55 PM
Urban,
If you fear a jaywalking ticket in NYC, allow me to suggest therapy.
Which is not to say that legal overreach hasn't gotten absurd in many areas (zero-tolerance in schools being a prime example), but it is useful to ask why. Extreme risk-aversion, including absurd fear-mongering post-9/11, politicians playing on racial issues and our collective litigation-oriented culture all contribute.
And if that makes sense to you, it also makes sense to not overstate things. I lived in NYC for eight years, and have never even heard of someone getting a jaywalking ticket. I crossed against the light multiple times a day in front of cops. Sure, I'm sure someone, at some point got one. On the other hand, being minority with a bag of pot, now, that's trouble.
Jamie at January 30, 2012 5:57 PM
"You are only a sexual predator if you are not on a wrestling mat. If you are on a wrestling mat, grouping is encouraged."
By the time I had understood the misspelling, I had already come up with a X-rated image.
Zabana at January 30, 2012 6:22 PM
Wow.
You can brand a six-year-old a sex offender for life for brushing up against another kid on the playground, but TSA thugs can all but publicly cavity-search you at the boarding ramp and get away with it.
I frankly don't think we can merely vote our way out of this.
Wes S. at January 30, 2012 6:31 PM
This sort of nonsense requires average citizens to do a few things.
First is, make sure we have all the facts. That means pressing school officials, parents, newspaper reporters and so on. People sometimes lie. The situation may not be what it seems to be at first (case in point: the Duke 'rape' case). So we have to get the facts.
Second, then we hold people accountable. While it's easy to threaten to sue (and much harder to do), and it can be very hard to persuade public officials to do the right thing just because, there is one thing that motivates public officials: elections.
That's right, elections. Kindly let your local school board official know that you and your neighbors are going to remember, with ballots marked for and donations to her/his opponents at the next election, that the idiot school principal saddled a six year old with a sex offender record unless something is done, and guess what?
Something will get done.
Some might consider that, er, 'impolite'. I plead guilty.
These sorts of idiot responses by schools and other government agencies happen because we, the public, don't get the facts and don't hold our officials accountable. No one is going to do the heavy lifting for us, folks. It's our job.
Steve White at January 30, 2012 7:17 PM
Teachers, principals, TSA... They're all government workers: incompetent, can't be fired, overpayed, and they take sadistic pleasure in weilding their power. Just wait till they're running all the hospitals and you're a patient.
Matt at January 30, 2012 8:41 PM
These school officials are just as bad as those who want to circumcise their children.
ed at January 31, 2012 11:04 AM
Want governmental abuses curtailed, then vote for Ron Paul. www.ronpaul2012.com.
Justin D.-Brantingham at February 1, 2012 10:34 AM
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