ABC News reports today that 2 young boys face criminal prosecution for slapping girls' butts (and touching a girl's breast) at the school. They are currently charged with misdemeanors, and if convicted, regardless of whether they have to serve time, they will be registered as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. The boys already spent 5! days at juvenile hall - which seems to me punishment enough.
Moreover, apparently spanking each other's butts was a common way for girls and boys to greet each other at that school - according to a girl interviewed by abc news. While some girls said they felt uncomfortable, at least two of them recanted when questioned in court about it.
Don't get me wrong, I think what the boys did was terrible. I still remember the humiliation and plain dirtiness of being touched on the butt when I was a young teenager. /I/ didn't like it, /I/ felt uncomfortable - but then again, it wasn't a common thing to do in my school and it had a clear sexual meaning. That said, these are 13-yo boys. They still are learning what proper rules of behavior are, that they are not little kids anymore and that girls are no longer the simple playmates of -literally- yesteryear. I think it's absurd that that prosecutor would prosecute the kids for acting like kids act. Yes, they did something wrong, but there are many, many, many lower forms of punishment that can be used to bring home that message.
As they say on the Week every week "Only in America"