PA - School Covered Up Rapes of Four 1st Graders

[White Rain]

This is absolutely unbelievable. I don't care if the 12 year old was a special education kid or not, if he committed FOUR rapes he KNEW what he was doing and KNEW it was wrong.
I'd like to know who all was part of the covering up here. Must not have been any with kids in this school. How could this happen?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17030722/

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Teachers and administrators at Central Elementary School knew they had a problem with F.H., a 12-year-old who had been accused of going into a bathroom stall and sexually assaulting a first-grade boy.

But instead of calling police and removing F.H., district officials covered up the attack and allowed him to remain in class, leading to the sexual assault of three more first-graders, parents say. (more at link)

 

[Mygirlsadie]

OMG right in my husbands hometown. I am sure half of my little nieces and nephews go to this school. Exactly how special needs is this 12 year old?

 

[philamena]

What an outrageous crime. You're right White Rain, this kid may only be 12 yrs old but her comitted the SAME crime 4 times.

The kid should be placed in a facility or school with kids his own age or higher and ONLY after he recieves intense counseling. He will also need constant supervision when around other kids.
And the school officials who covered this up!(@*#&#<#&#&# !
They should be strung up by their ******** then fired without pay.

 

[White Rain]

"The district asserts that under the Constitution it can't be held responsible for failing to protect youngsters from assaults by other children."


Then WHO is supposed to protect our children while they are at school? Are our 1st graders supposed to be able to protect themselves from predators TWICE their size, if not more? You know what if this 12 year old raped a teacher? I wonder what the district would say then?
And WHOSE bright idea was it to let this kid go/be ANYWHERE without constant supervision?

 

[Mygirlsadie]

Now that is scary. So basically our children are not protected at all in school and if something happens to them there is nothing we can do about it?

"The district asserts that under the Constitution it can't be held responsible for failing to protect youngsters from assaults by other children."


Then WHO is supposed to protect our children while they are at school? Are our 1st graders supposed to be able to protect themselves from predators TWICE their size, if not more? You know what if this 12 year old raped a teacher? I wonder what the district would say then?
And WHOSE bright idea was it to let this kid go/be ANYWHERE without constant supervision?

 

[txsvicki]

Schools have too much immunity, too many excuses, and no accountability to anyone since they flaunt laws and do as they please. I hope lawmakers and the people wake up and make them accountable and not just make new laws that focus on the children. Things are already out of hand in that area with such severe accusations and punishment of kids who don't do anything as severe as this 12 year old boy. If the school knew that the boy had assaulted a child at school they should never have put him out in a hallway alone after getting into trouble. Little kids should not be allowed to go to bathrooms or running around the school without an adult going along and at least waiting outside in the hall. This bunch endangered the other children and also failed to get help for this 12 year old boy. If he could have received help earlier in life, maybe he wouldn't have went this far.

 

[Yakwoman]

"The district asserts that under the Constitution it can't be held responsible for failing to protect youngsters from assaults by other children."

I guess I'd buy that THE FIRST TIME he assaulted a kid but after that, it just shows a blatant disregard for those 1st graders.

 

[shdbepaintin]

"The district asserts that under the Constitution it can't be held responsible for failing to protect youngsters from assaults by other children."

I guess I'd buy that THE FIRST TIME he assaulted a kid but after that, it just shows a blatant disregard for those 1st graders.

EXACTLY,
Bad enough, I mean horrible, outrageous, that it occured once, but under no circumstances should it have happened to another child.
Once the school new, they became responsible, in my opinion.
Makes me so mad.

 

[SewingDeb]

Now that is scary. So basically our children are not protected at all in school and if something happens to them there is nothing we can do about it?

That's how I read it. This is SOOO wrong!

 

[SewingDeb]

Several things stand out to me from that article.

He cited federal court rulings that say school systems are generally immune from paying damages unless it can be shown that they actually took “affirmative” steps that put youngsters in danger, and that the action taken “shocks the conscience.”

It shocks the conscience that he did not have an adult by his side at all times once they decided to let him remain in the school. What were they thinking?

The final assault, for which F.H. was found guilty in juvenile court of rape and sent to a detention center until he turns 18, took place after he was put on “hallway detention” — out of view of any teacher and next to a bathroom used by first-graders, the lawsuit said. That is a key point in the plaintiffs’ case.

What?? He is put out in the hall next to the bathroom after he has already raped three children in the bathroom? That alone should win the lawsuit, imo.

The assaults began in December 2003, a few months after F.H., a special-education student with a history of behavioral problems, was transferred to Central Elementary from another school in the district, according to court papers.

I wonder what he did at the first school to be transferred to another school? I think that should be looked into as well.

 

[julianne]

Oh dear God.....Honestly, if this was my son who was victimized, I don't know exactly how I would react, but I can assure you that the end result would be me ending up in jail. No doubt about it. The blatant and reckless disregard for the well-being of all students younger than him was completely ignored by the school officials---oh, this infuriates me. Yes, there would be HELL to pay-------OMG!!!!

Also, I would certainly hope that the 12 year old abusers home life is looked at veeeerry carefully. Many times, kid act out what they know, and 12 year olds rape little kids only when they themselves have been raped.

 

[Amraann]

Ok I am going to say it..

Where did this child learn this?????
I am not going to advocate his attacks on the first graders but I am going to ask where he got this from??
IMO the source is a more serious issue... It just keeps perpetuating and as a society we should start catching the source not the end result. Or maybe the source and the end result ...eitherway

 

[eve]

Please don't blame the teachers.

Disgusting. I am a public school secondary teacher in an alternative setting. They send us the worst of the worst. We have many special ed kids, mostly behavior disorders and many of them are undiagnosed (but we know it). Special ed kids often can't even be suspended more than x number of times and when they get here, they've usually already reached the legal limit, so we have to keep them here day after day no matter what they do. When the high schools send kids to us they FREQUENTLY give us scanty files. The kid was expelled, but we don't know why, for example. Considering expulsion usually involves drugs, weapons, fighting -- how can they not tell us? We about this all the time and our administrator just shrugs.

Because I was a lawyer in my other life, I constantly mouth off about this. This morning our secretary told us to drop a kid from our books because he was court-ordered to a facility which deals with kids who have been arrested for criminal sexual conduct. None of us were surprised.

Budget cuts may affect my position next year, even though I am tenured. I think it may be a blessing in disguise. I'm thinking of a job change. I always hung in here thinking I was helping kids but the personal cost is getting too great. I don't want something like this happening on my watch because my district won't give me the information or tools to deal with it.

Eve

 

[HeartofTexas]

It's beyond shocking that a kindergarten child can be suspended from school for hugging someone, but this kid was allowed to rape four 1st graders before anything was done. Something is terribly wrong.

 

[Amraann]

Please don't blame the teachers.

Disgusting. I am a public school secondary teacher in an alternative setting. They send us the worst of the worst. We have many special ed kids, mostly behavior disorders and many of them are undiagnosed (but we know it). Special ed kids often can't even be suspended more than x number of times and when they get here, they've usually already reached the legal limit, so we have to keep them here day after day no matter what they do. When the high schools send kids to us they FREQUENTLY give us scanty files. The kid was expelled, but we don't know why, for example. Considering expulsion usually involves drugs, weapons, fighting -- how can they not tell us? We about this all the time and our administrator just shrugs.

Because I was a lawyer in my other life, I constantly mouth off about this. This morning our secretary told us to drop a kid from our books because he was court-ordered to a facility which deals with kids who have been arrested for criminal sexual conduct. None of us were surprised.

Budget cuts may affect my position next year, even though I am tenured. I think it may be a blessing in disguise. I'm thinking of a job change. I always hung in here thinking I was helping kids but the personal cost is getting too great. I don't want something like this happening on my watch because my district won't give me the information or tools to deal with it.

Eve

Eve, I have read many of your posts and I admire you.

As a parent I fight hard to make sure the teachers have the tools to educate my child..
This battle became soo hard that I now keep my son home.

 

[eve]

Eve, I have read many of your posts and I admire you.

As a parent I fight hard to make sure the teachers have the tools to educate my child..
This battle became soo hard that I now keep my son home.

Amrraann, thank you very much. :blushing:

I really have just about had it. We also were told a special ed kid in a wheel chair is coming and we are in an old 3-story hospital. We do have an elevator but cannot use it during fire drills. We have been told we must carry him down 3 flights. I have had a herniated disc and I have said I WILL NOT DO IT unless the building is ablaze (of course I would carry him, then). I will not throw my disc out again for a drill. The other teachers (all but 1 of us is over 45) mostly echo my sentiments either because of something physical or because they worry they may drop him (lawsuit) or that he will accuse one of us of touching him inappropriately during transport down the stairs. Once I would have laughed at that but we have all been accused of it, many of the parents chase lawsuits.

One kid insisted my colleague had a hidden camera in his classroom rest room and we had to tear apart the whole ceiling and search for the non-existent thing. Meanwhile he has the accusation in his file and our administration says "We cannot back you up in any way. We must remain neutral. You are on your own. You may, of course, contact the union." If a kid says "She touched me," we have to immediately call the police. They have been here many times for this.

I am sick of being paid like a peon, expected to perform mental, physical and and emotional heroics and being treated like a common criminal half the time.

Eve

 

[mysteriew]

"The district asserts that under the Constitution it can't be held responsible for failing to protect youngsters from assaults by other children."


Then WHO is supposed to protect our children while they are at school? Are our 1st graders supposed to be able to protect themselves from predators TWICE their size, if not more? You know what if this 12 year old raped a teacher? I wonder what the district would say then?
And WHOSE bright idea was it to let this kid go/be ANYWHERE without constant supervision?

Aren't schools mandatory reporters on abuse? And I don't think that excludes abuse from other children or is only for parental abuse.

I don't blame the teachers quite as much- though the teacher who put him outside in the hall unsupervised should be seriously looked at. But certainly the school officials should have been looking at the abuse issue and the safety of the children.

 

[eve]

Aren't schools mandatory reporters on abuse? And I don't think that excludes abuse from other children or is only for parental abuse.

I don't blame the teachers quite as much- though the teacher who put him outside in the hall unsupervised should be seriously looked at. But certainly the school officials should have been looking at the abuse issue and the safety of the children.

Yes, teachers are mandatory reporters. As to the teacher who put him in that hall - maybe it depends what she knew about the kid. Was it customary to put students in the hall? At some schools they do it. I would not, although we used to. We don't dare now.

I have students I later found out had done some extremely serious things. Some of them sexual. I was not warned. The teachers did not know. Privacy and all that. Once a kid somehow got my phone number and started calling me on weekends. Once I kept finding notes in my drawer saying "I want to sleep with you." Once I found a perfectly executed clay replica of a penis in my coat pocket with a loose-leaf ring (metal) resembling a Prince Albert penis piercing.

The little darlings!!!! :slap:

Eve

 

[Jeana (DP)]

This is one of the saddest things I've read in sometime. I cannot believe they allowed this to happen and continue. At my kids' elementary school, each classroom of K-3rd grade has its own bathroom so that the kids can "go" without "leaving" and the teacher can keep an "ear" on them. I was very happy when I learned that they designed the school this way. Even when I volunteered there, it was much, much safer and easier on us volunteers not to be responsible in that way with students that we didn't come into contact with regularly.

 

[opme]

This kind of story frightens and angers me beyond beleif... I can not fathom how anyone could have chosen to disregard the behviors, the many many red flags and allowed this child access to defenseless children who were likely to be prime targets. This school needs to have every individual that made the decisons to allow this offender to become a repeat offender by providing access to new victims. They failed these children. Those repeat attacks should never have happened..Never!.

Hmm interesting the stance on protecting students while in school.. they have instituted lock downs, metal detectors, pass codes etc in the name of safetly, They are responsible for providing a safe material on playgrounds to prevent injuries, and practice fire drills and other activities in the name of saftey. But wont protect the children from being victimized by other students.. if this were a teacher who was guilty of the offenses? or as someone else said a teacher that was victimized? I would bet there would have been far more done after the first attack.

Hallway detention.. hmm that was basically a free pass to roam the hallways.. with no supervision. Yeah that made a whole he** of a lot of sense. If anything he should have been placed in the front of the room right where the teacher or an administrator could see every move the child made.
My child was bitten by another repeatedly in one of her daycare centers andthat child was shadowed by one adult at all times as a part of the plan to resolve the issue. ( We removed her because she was bitten 3 times in one day while being shadowed) And yet this school didnt see fit to provide this level of monitoring when it came to sexual assault.....?

I am not blaming the teachers but this school is absolutely negligent. It comes from the top down and they need to be held accountable. Those administrators that made the decisions should be fired or on leave pending a review of their conduct and decisions.