Family Battles Sex Assault Claim Against 6-Year-Old

[✖Ice✖]

Legally, there’s no such thing as sexual assault for a six year-old in California.







Schools wasting dollars






An East Bay dad claims a game of tag on the playground resulted in his 6-year-old son being accused of sexual assault – a decision he said was an overreaction by school officials.

The parent, who asked only to be identified as Oswin, said his son was accused of brushing his best friend’s leg or groin while the two were playing on the playground at Lupine Hills Elementary in Hercules two months ago.

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.

[TigerTank77]

Incoming lawsuit

[TakeTheLeap]

We're getting to the point where kids can't even play on the playground because people overreact to darn near everything. It's absolutely pathetic! Most schools require at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day (especially in the elementary schools around here), and that's usually recess. We encourage safe playing, but things -do- happen - kids LIKE getting rough, jumping on one another, and playing contact games. Even if we set boundaries, kids aren't careful when they play and hands and body parts sometimes go where they shouldn't.

Still, part of me wonders whether it was somehow intentional or the child accused is somehow considered a "problem child" in the classroom. I don't think it's ever as cut and dry as news articles make it out to be, especially with the news being biased, usually favoring the "victim."

[TigerTank77]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gregory House

Still, part of me wonders whether it was somehow intentional or the child accused is somehow considered a "problem child" in the classroom. I don't think it's ever as cut and dry as news articles make it out to be, especially with the news being biased, usually favoring the "victim."

There is absolutley no way in satan's fresh hell that a 6 year old knows anything substantial about sex or sexually harassing people.

If the kid was a pain in the ass in the classroom, slapping him with a sexual assault charge and suspending him are not the correct methods of dealing with that.

But you're right, there's so little damn information in this article that it's hard to know whats going on.

[caffeineislife]

this is sick :P
the boy is 6 for cring out lowd

[Squidgy]

Next thing you know a hug can get you pregnant.

[Pelios]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gregory House

We're getting to the point where kids can't even play on the playground because people overreact to darn near everything. It's absolutely pathetic! Most schools require at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day (especially in the elementary schools around here), and that's usually recess. We encourage safe playing, but things -do- happen - kids LIKE getting rough, jumping on one another, and playing contact games. Even if we set boundaries, kids aren't careful when they play and hands and body parts sometimes go where they shouldn't.

^^ True it's sad how probably when we have kids they aren't even going to be able to play such innocent games such as tag...

[BDF]

Everyone on here... just make sure you never become a parent that sues other parents for their kid apparently "brushing their leg" against your kid's crotch in some playground game or whatever.

I suppose I could sue anyone who's ever sneezed behind me on the public transport for giving me the flu, right?

I don't know what the legal terms of that would be... loss of income due to illness, nuisance, harassment? Just, no.

[ReluctantPegasister]

This is just so weird. Aren't these the same parents who had their underwear pulled up, their pants pulled down, and bras snapped? Obviously they survived... I know that in fifth grade I suffered the occasional "brush" against my fully developed B-cups, but I got through it without a lawsuit.

[TakeTheLeap]

Originally Posted by TigerTank77

There is absolutley no way in satan's fresh hell that a 6 year old knows anything substantial about sex or sexually harassing people.

If the kid was a pain in the ass in the classroom, slapping him with a sexual assault charge and suspending him are not the correct methods of dealing with that.

But you're right, there's so little damn information in this article that it's hard to know whats going on.

At 6 years old, kids tend to still copy what they have seen their parents and siblings do. If that child has seen something in their home, they may not understand WHAT they're doing, but they do -intend- to do it. I'm taking this from a teacher's perspective, though. If I had seen what happened and it seemed intentional, my first thought would be to call home and figure it out. Kids -do- see things they shouldn't.

As far as my statement about the child being a "problem child", I meant that he may have a lot of behavior problems which could include not following playground rules, which can lead to hands going where they don't belong. It's not, "He's a problem kid, he deserves to be slapped with sexual assault charges." Rather, it's, "Does he misbehave consistently? Has he hit/touched students before? Is that why the teacher assumed it was intentional?"

[TigerTank77]

Originally Posted by Dr. Gregory House

At 6 years old, kids tend to still copy what they have seen their parents and siblings do. If that child has seen something in their home, they may not understand WHAT they're doing, but they do -intend- to do it. I'm taking this from a teacher's perspective, though. If I had seen what happened and it seemed intentional, my first thought would be to call home and figure it out. Kids -do- see things they shouldn't.

Thats true, but mimicry doesn't necessarily denote the understanding of what is being imitated.

[TakeTheLeap]

Originally Posted by TigerTank77

Thats true, but mimicry doesn't necessarily denote the understanding of what is being imitated.

Read what I said one more time. I never said that mimicry showed understanding. It doesn't change the fact that they intended to do what they did. However, the charges, in this case, would NOT go into criminal court and the child would not be tried as an adult. Regardless, this should not have been something to meet any kind of criminal charges in the first place.

[dr2005]

It's times like these that I become very tempted to get one of the statute books and start hitting people with it. I'd probably go through with it as well, were it not for the fact that hitting someone with a copy of the law is probably the most ironic form of assault there is...

But seriously, this case makes me want to dig out that implied facepalm picture again. There is no reason why this should end up anywhere near the realm of sexual assault, much less on their permanent record as one.

[Nostalgia]

Over-reacting parents.

I work in a pre-school. Recently a parent came up to telling me they were worried their child was being picked on, We are talking a 3 year old child here. Similar situation, the child in question and the childs mother who thought their child was being picked on was simply over-reacting, the child accused of bullying 3 years old, the child who was supposidely being bullied also 3 years old. Children of this age fight - its part of social skills - learning how to share and deal with thier own conflicts.

A 6 year old being brushed against near or in thier private parts by another child, does not mean its sexual assualt. The same as how two three year old children fighting over a toy and hitting one another does not count as bullying.

The problem is the parents. I get parents want to protect their children but accusing a 3 year old child of being a bully because that 3 year child has simply hit or took a toy of your child does not make that child a bully. The same as the situation in the first post in this thread. Brushes happen in the playground, parents need to learn the difference between children being bullied and children being children and learning how to socialise and make friends.

If playing a game of tag counts as sexual assualt. I dread to think what kiss chase would count as!

Schools and parents need to stop over reacting, look at the age of the children, the circumstances of the incident, then go from there. Putting a record of sexual battery on a 6 year olds child school record is wrong and so was suspending the child. That child now has a label - a 6 year old child labelled with a charge of sexual battery are you really telling me this is right ?

Because it's not. That childs self esteem is probably damaged now. Labelling young children with things such as this is not the way to go. If the child walked up to his friend and pulled down his friends trousers and pants and then pointed to it, or something along the lines of that - yes fair enough talk to the child, tell the child it was wrong to do that.

But for a game of tag ? No. You might as well charge every single child who as played 'sticky glue' or 'stuck in the mud' or 'kiss charge' with some sort of sexual assult or battery. But we don't. We should we, they are just children playing games that children have played in the playground for years on end. Why now start applying charges as these and labels such as these to young children ? The answer schools and parents are over-reacting to these situations.

[FlyingTrue]

I agree, what happened in the situation is ridiculous and blatantly unacceptable.

[George^^]

Well. That's stupid. There is nothing pointing to the child actually doing anything on purpose. it said "a brush", things like that happen. There's no need to potentually ruin this kids life. The records will be seen by his teachers from now on, and who knows what that could do?

[Iris. ♥]

This is ridiculous. They were kids playing a game. I'm sure there was absolutely no intention of sexually assault. It's sad how easily people overreact to things these days. That poor kid probably doesn't even know what's going on.

[CanadaCraig]

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you're having a groovy day!

Fact is - boys respond to boys differently than how girls respond to girls.

That said.... A male principal - most likely - would not even have taken note of the specific physical contact between the two male friends. But even if he did - he would not have responded. He would have KNOWN [Because he himself is a male] that it was nothing more than an example of how males often bond with each other. Girls touch each other more tenderly. Boys touch each other by wrestling, etc. That's just how it is. [A generalization - but it's true in most cases]

Knowing that - I couldn't help but smile when I found out that the principal is indeed a woman! Am I putting women down? Of course not. But a man is more likely to know - instinctively - how males respond to each other than a woman would know. And if a woman was not informed of that reality - she might very well jump to conclusions. She might very well sexualize [As indeed the principal of that school did] the physical contact that she saw the boys engage in. She just happened to witness the moment the ONE boy was touching the other.

She owes that boy - his best friend - their parents - and the entire school an apology for over-reacting. But that's not likely to happen. Sadly. Leading by example is not something enough teachers and principals have the courage to do.

Here's the story as told in the U.K. web-paper 'The Daily Mail'.

CLICK THIS SENTENCE TO READ STORY!

GREAT BIG HUG
Craig!!