Flip side

Oh dear. Again, on children, but not quite what you'd think.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A dozen schoolboys aged 6 to 8 years old will be charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a female classmate during recess and a teacher who was supposed to be supervising them has been fired, authorities said on Wednesday.

In the Friday incident, the boys surrounded the 8-year-old girl on the school playground and poked at her with their fingers while she fought to keep on her underwear, local media reports said. Another student alerted teachers.

Most of the boys involved were expelled and the girl removed from the 400-pupil school, Columbia Accelerated Community Educational Center. One teacher was fired and another was suspended, the school district superintendent said.

Police referred charges of sexual misconduct and assault against the boys, and prosecutors could bring additional charges, said Kathryn Herman, an administrator with the juvenile division of the St. Louis court system.

"It's quite rare we get delinquency referrals on such young children," Herman said.

It's a short article, so the full text was reproduced. But I find it tragic. Tragic because an 8 year old girl might know what's going on, but a 6 year old boy may not. Due negligence? From whom? Certainly, the teachers on duty that day were. Parents? Possibly. But can you really tell when a horde of little kids decide to do something? They may know it's wrong but they may not realise the magnitude of it all.


y'know, I'm kind of glad I'm not having any kids.