12 y/o girl pinches boy student at Orlando FL area school. Mar 2016.

In bolding the student's quotes, I'm trying to get a sense of her thought process.

"LONGWOOD, FL...The incident was reported at ... Middle School ... in Longwood two weeks ago in between classes.Breana [redacting last name], 12, told News 6 pinching someone's butt and laughing at their reaction is a game that a lot of people play at the school and that she thought it was a joke.
"I regret it because I didn't know it would lead to this,"[redacting last name], told News 6. "I feel like it's just stupid just a stupid charge that shouldn't have to happen.... [redacting last name] said she didn't know the boy."
http://www.clickorlando.com/news/girl-12-arrested-for-pinching-boys-butt-at-longwood-school (Mar 22)

Asking what our Sleuthdom - What do her statements tell us about her thought process?
Does she think pinching others is okay? Even if she does not know them? Esp'ly if she does not know them?
Does she think there would be no consequence for her? That boy would not report? That nobody would observe?
That there should be no consequence? Not even the pinchee objecting? Or teacher or admin'r talking to her?
Or school discipline? Or LE involvement, like taking to her, or arresting her? Or more?
Did she express "regret" only because she "didn't know it would lead to this."?

What was she thinking? Is her thinking typical of students her age? Whaddyathink?

I'm not asking (yet) what you think the school should do, not asking (yet) if LE should arrest her.

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BTW, the aftermath:
According to the report, after the initial incident, the boy told the school resource deputy he didn't want to press charges ...Later his mother contacted the school. Breana was suspended from her middle school; she was arrested and faces misdemeanor battery charges.

"The Seminole County state attorney told News 6 that if Evans completed a diversion program (a pre-trial intervention that can consist of counseling and education), completed her community service, and passed drug tests, the charge would be dismissed."
http://jezebel.com/florida-girl-age-12-arrested-for-pinching-classmates-1766908094 (Mar 24)

 

Oh boy. I'm not sure what I think. I guess the question is how does one draw the line? When does it go from childhood prank to battery? In the school district I grew up in that 12 year old would have been charged with sexual harassment. Seriously.

 

Al66pine, my reaction to this is, as a culture have we completely lost our minds? A 12 year old girl pinches a classmate and there is talk about an arrest? An arrest and charges??

When I was 12, if you didn't wear green on St. Patrick's day prepare to be pinched by other school children you didn't know. Boys snapped girls bras in the back and girls looked irritated and considered avoiding those boys (or not, actually). Kids snapped each other with rubber bands. Kids said "have you ever seen a match burn twice? and then lit a match, blew it out, and stuck it on the skin of a friend where it burned their skin a little. It was all a joke.

Clearly, in this school, pinching other kids in the butt is a joke. And the boy doesn't want to "press charges" (hello, of course he doesn't) but the mother is still offended and concerned.

Honestly, we've lost our minds. We have presidential candidates who are arguing about their penis size, and we have a 12 year old facing criminal charges for pinching a classmate who doesn't want charges pressed.

God help us all.

And also, that essurance ad to on the right of this screen is about to give me a strobe seizure.

 

Thanks for response.

What do you think she thought? No biggie, in fact nothing wrong at all, just go around school pinching ppl you do not know? That's kinda the vibe I'm getting. Of course, we do not know what she said that was edited from vid or news article.

Again, IDK what (my idea of) an approp response from school would be. IDK if involving LE & judicial system is approp.

I just wondered if fellow sleuthers thought her actions and thinking are typical for 12 y/o's in 2016.

 

Thanks for response.

^bbm sbm
Politics today? Pres. candidates, supporters, advisors, donors, & MSM 'personalities'?
Seems some of the ^ folks express themselves w the eloquence and decorum of low-rent guests on a particularly bad Jerry Springer or Maury Povich show. No, strike that, more like "worldsidehiphop street fights"
(don't take my word for it, do a youtube search).

Sorry for tangent, back on topic. What do you think the 12 y/o was thinking as she pinched other students at school? No prob, perfectly acceptable, no consequences? Or, my parents will blow a gasket when they find out?


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Again IDK what approp school response should be.

 

She's a 12 year old.

I teach middle school sunday school, and yes, they think it's funny to pinch each other and act out in dramatic ways.

The appropriate response from the school, in my opinion, would be to remind kids to not pinch each other and then that would be that. Because we're a country full or weirdos right now. So kids, don't act like kids, please. Adults running for President of the United States, please continue to discuss your penis size.

Because kids can't be kids, but adults can act out in ways we never believed imaginable, EVER, in the history of time.

Arrest kids, elect adults for president for acting the same way. HMM.

 

I agree she had a "no big deal" attitude about this. I've also had a number of years experience working with this age group. They do like to joke around, prank each other. IMO this little gal wasn't pinching his rear in an assaulting manner. These kids are impulsive.

 

If simply telling children not to do something would stop them from doing it ever again, it would be a lot easier to raise them.

 

Agree with your assessment and opinion on this JeannaT - it was a teaching moment.

From the little available, I think the 12 year-old girls parent(s) were prepared to do just that with this molehill of a situation. Now that this boys mom blew the situation up - it will be a bigger teaching moment - one that was not called for.

The mother of the 12 year-old boy - omg. Can only see an attention seeking, look at poor me kind of person, grabbing onto the smallest molehill and making a mountain out of it - for her benefit. Her 12 year-old boy used better sense imo.

Pretty soon though, she will wake-up one day when he is between the age of 15 - 17, and boom! it'll be game on. Like most normal kids. Will she be able to teach and navigate life with him then? Unable to give her that credit at the moment.

All jmo.

 

Guess it depends on how hard she pinched him. Did it leave a mark?

 

I'm wondering if there is a history with this little gal? Or if there is a history of the boy being picked on. Trying to wrap my head around the severity of the punishment.

 

It does seem like we live in a bass ackward world doesn't it..

 

I'm wondering if there's more to this story. For the boy to report this, either to the school or to his parents, tells me the girl may have been harassing him to the degree of embarrassment more than a little pinch. Somethin else going on here IMO.

 

No wonder kids are so detached from each other. People learn what's ok by making mistakes but kids aren't even allowed to do that anymore and socialization has turned into fear creation. It's ridiculous, in my humble opinion we are creating a generation of socially disconnected, non empathetic people.

 

I also wondered what would've happened if this had happened on St. Patrick's Day. Would the response have been different? Unless there is more to this story than is being provided, I think this falls into the category of teach kids how to solve their own problems/teach them what's right and wrong, and to go to the adults if it gets out of control. This didn't SEEM to be that serious, just reading the stories provided.

 

Thanks for your responses so far. :happydance:Would still welcome more.

 

Maybe I'm jaded but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the boy's mom hasn't contacted an attorney already and I'm sure she's also the one to involve the media. Because poor Johnny is so traumatized over this outrageous attack.

I think the young lady's thought process was that it was a joke and she expected to get a laugh out of it. After all, nobody got hurt (unless the boy was taken to the doctor's office by his mother). I think the teacher or the principal should sit both kids down and let them know this behavior was inappropriate, not to do it again and send them both back to class.

JMO but this has been blown way out of proportion.

 

The girl was suspended from school. That's punishment enough.

Getting LE involved for a pinch--whether it left a mark or not--is overkill. LE has plenty of more serious "crimes" to deal with.

I'm old, and half of my middle-school classmates (and I) would have been charged for this kind of behavior if such actions had been routinely taken back then.

As for the girl's thought processes, she's 12 years old. She probably thought it was an amusing goof.

It's well known that the part of the brain that controls decision-making isn't well developed until young adulthood. Expecting a 12-year-old to think much beyond the moment is simply denying biology.

 

Could not agree more.

 

I really don't understand what do presidential candidates have to do with any of this.
Both of them would have been growing up in the good olden days, when kids supposedly could pinch each other or burn each other with matches with no consequences.
So seems very strange to bring them into discussion.