Hillsborough County prosecutors allege the four boys raped the 13-year-old victim multiple times over two months with a broomstick and hockey stick.
The prosecutor said the victim's screams could be heard outside the boys' locker room at Walker Middle School, in southern Tampa, where the allegedly assaults took place.
Multiple people witnessed the attacks, but no one reported the incidents, including the victim, Hindman said.
HT: HERP&ES
The attackers are fine upstanding students. The mother of one of them, said her son wants to attend college and is a good boy who never gets in trouble. He was merely clowning around with a hockey stick. Several character witnesses were brought forth. In the end I predict they will all be slapped on the wrist or get off scott free.
ReplyDeleteWell, the role models we give them - a judge facing impeachment for five years worth of sexual abuse who might get 33 month in jail, two victims who did not come forward for five years, and courthouse guards who didn't do anything - are so upstanding. No wonder we homeschool. It almost seems ridiculous that these boys get tried as adults and could face 120 year when the judge, an adult in a position of power, can walk away with so little time and possibly keep his pension. It gets harder and harder to teach our children morality - why would they believe us?
ReplyDeleteIf they sentenced, they will get real justice by being someone's bitch in the jail. THEN they will understand what have they done to a boy and how much better life they had outside... Those who said these are "upstanding students" and from a fine family.. BS! They stopped being upstanding students in the second they turned into animals. Their family stopped being "finest in the community" when their spawns became uncontrollable idiots. Plus it's their faults too, they don't know crap about their own kids... Those students who let this happen for so long in the school should be sentenced to at least a month in jail too. THE IDEA of a punishment/a sentence is to scare the other people away to do crime again... not in this country.. cops get a criminal and lawyers get them out..
ReplyDeleteThis story is so frikin upsetting.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me even more angry is a defense attorney whose defense is "clients were good students and had never been in trouble before" That is irrelevant to how heinous this crime is. And to think this went on for 2 months. Then another ridiculous thing to even bring up is "the family is one of the finest in the community"
WHat the H does that have to do with anything?
I always think how different defense attorneys would be if they where defending a person being tried for a crime against a family member of theirs(the lawyer).
I just wrote about this story too. http://www.whineymomma.com/2009/06/this-makes-me-sick.html
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sick to my stomach. Reading Frank's comment above I totally agree. First of all, there is no way you are a fine upstanding student if you do something like this...that just doesn't equate. A more accurate description is you are trying to appear like you are an upstanding student where really, you are a disgusting human doing wrongful and terrible things to another student. I hope that the justice system does not fail in this case and these guys are punished to the full extent of the law.
I went to an all boys boarding school about 8 years ago and this sort of thing goes on all the time, especially with freshman. We never took it so far as these kids, but the behavior stopped abruptly when once an older student scolded us. In this case, if the victim's screams could be heard even outside the locker room, how could nobody have stepped in? Why didn't the other boys say something? This reminds me of the lacrosse team that would beat up the JV players in the back of the bus. The coaches were charged with negligence in that case and it seems some teacher/coach is at fault here as well.
ReplyDeleteI have been following this story and it's remarkable how much misinformation is being circulated, especially on CNN. The alleged victim was picked on in school as well as in the locker room for being a poor student who, who was subsequently held back because of this fact. I don't believe any rape took place. It's going to be a long and ugly trial for all the boys, but the truth will eventually surface.
ReplyDeleteIt seems pretty straight forward
ReplyDeleteWhen school officials questioned the defendants, all four admitted in a written statement sexually assaulting the victim.
I hope they receive the punishment they deserve for sexually assaulting, by their own admission, the victim.
Anonymous, your post makes it sound as if you think bullying is OK.
Pheonix how can you say that when this student was traumatized by three or four of his peers. When attitudes and behaviors such as this start early there is a higher probability of relapse later on.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me sick. I hope that these kids will be charged and covicted to the maximun extent. How can this happen in a school? Were was the school staff? In my opinion the school staff should also be charged. To all the parents of the other students who attend the school and witnessed these attacks, you to should be ashamed/worried/horrified about what you are teaching your children for them to be a witness to this and not say anything is just wrong! If your child saw this taking place and they were afraid to stop it they should have gone to someone for help. It is wrong/immoral and it should never be acceptable to just not say anything. I hope that you speak to your children and have them apologize to the victim for their silence whatever their reasons the victim deserves that much. To the parents of the victim I hope that your son understands that your anger and your tears are not toward him. I also hope that as the victim grows up that he is always aware that just because someone did this to him it will never to okay for him to do it to someone else. All the best to be strong and talk to someone about all that you feel.
ReplyDeleteI think all four of those boys need to be held down and penetrated with a hockey stick and/or broom, to the same extent that it happened to the original victim. This will teach them not to do it again; and I think they will learn a valuable lesson. Sending them to jail will not resolve the problem. Humans learn by experience, let these for idiots learn by experience too.
ReplyDeleteBlue Phoenix said...
ReplyDeleteI guess my sarcasm was lost on some who did not read about the incident in full. I find the those who were aware of the behavior and did nothing equally as culpable and vile as the four rapists.
Excerpt:
Defense attorneys told the judge their clients were good students and had never been in trouble before. Attorney Tim Taylor, representing Randall Moye, said his client's family is among the finest in the community.
Taylor presented six character witnesses, including his client's mother, Jeanne Myers, who said her son wants to attend college. The prosecutor asked her about her son's written statement about the attacks. Myers said her son described clowning around in the locker room with a hockey stick. She added that he told her about holding down the victim for a few seconds.
I find the whole incident upsetting. And I agree those who knew and did nothing are culpable to some extent. I am not sure how they live with themselves.
ReplyDeleteI also find the view that these are good students from fine family's who were just clowning around and maybe it got a little out of hand that some have expressed repellent. They sodomized this poor 13 year old boy. That is a serious crime and they should do the time.
I have read more on this since I posted and since they were charged as adults, I think there must be enough forensic evidence to prosecute.
America is a nation and idea that is on the way out. They're ALWAYS angels and upstanding members of society! Don't you GET IT?! Everyone is a genius, talented, pretty, strong and a champ. Unless you're a LOOSER. And LOSERS always get their asses kicked or raped. Life is like SPORTS! Its all a game.
ReplyDeleteI hope this country gets its ass kicked. Sure there are some good people in the USA, but they are in the minority.
I'm so fed up with the 'might makes right' bullcrap that prevails here.
the school and the teacher need to be put in jail as well. they are completely negligent for allowing this to happen for months. the school is responsible for the actions of the students through the teachers. the teacher should go to jail too and the people in charge of the school should as well.
ReplyDeleteThey deserve to spend the rest of their lives in jail. Only people in this country care so little for the value of life that they would allow these things to happen to children. It's unlikely that school officials were unaware of this occurring, they should be sued.
ReplyDelete"Those safe Home Schools?" http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2008/03/02/news/news03.txt
ReplyDeleteDoes that make it better?
We should be concerned about kid safety everywhere - Public School, Home School, Church, Home, Playground.
Something horrible happened to a child. We should hold the proper people responsible and make changes to make sure it doesn't happen again- not use the incident to further our own agenda.
If we play the "Aha!" game, others are going to do the same to us and it's not going to be good for anyone.
No child anywhere should ever be abused.
ReplyDeleteThat being said there are those that insist that children MUST be sent to public school so they will be safe. As we can see for ourselves not all children are safe in public schools, not all children enrolled in public schools receive a decent education. Until all children in public schools are safe 100% of the time and 100% of the students that are enrolled in public schools receive a decent education those that insist that PUPLIC SCHOOL should be the only way to educate children don't have a leg to stand on.
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