Thursday, January 11, 2007

Sexual harassment incident at school There was an incident of sexual harassment involving two of my 9th grade students yesterday. Allegedly, the incident occurred after school on the premises. The girl's father called me last night on my cell and left me a message saying that his daughter had been a victim of a rape attack. When I returned his call, he said that the boy had tried to rape her. Turns out, attempted rape might have been a strong term, but understandable language coming from an angry father under such circumstances. Sexual harassment is an appropriate term. As a matter of fact, two charges were pressed, though I did not ask the officer this morning exactly what the charges were. It is likely that the boy will go to tribunal and be placed in an alternative school. There will be a court date as well. He is under 17, so did not have to be taken in. He is suspended from school until his initial informal hearing. The boy's mother, whom I spoke to in the presence of the police officer, seemed to be taking it in stride. I have communicated with her regularly throughout this school year. Which should tell you something about the boy's conduct in school. I anticipate seeing how this does turn out. I have hope that the boy is one who will understand the seriousness of what he has done, learn from it, and correct his behavior in the future. I fear that an alternative setting may harden him, though. I am glad that something even worse did not happen. 10:52:36 PM    comment []trackback []