E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSA 7-year-old boy has been accused of sexual harassment after punching a fellow first-grader in the groin, but the boy's mother says he was acting in self-defense.
Tasha Lynch told The Boston Globe that her son, Mark Curran, was being choked during the Nov. 22 incident on a school bus, and has been afraid to go back to school in South Boston ever since.
“I think my kid was right to fight back [after he was choked],’’ she said. “He wasn’t doing anything except protecting himself.’’
A spokesman for the Boston public schools confirmed the incident had been classified as possible sexual harassment, but declined to comment it. Curran faces suspension or being transferred to another school if his actions are deemed to be sexual harassment, according to a letter from his school.
“Any kind of inappropriate touching would fall under that category,’’ school spokesman Matthew Wilder said to The Globe. “The school administration is conducting a full investigation that has not concluded yet. Certainly, once that investigation is through, we’ll then make a final conclusion as to who will be disciplined and how.’’
Boy took his gloves, choked him, kid says
Lynch said she could tell her son was upset when she picked him up from the bus stop after school on Nov. 22. She said she asked him what was wrong, and he told her another boy had choked him and taken his new gloves.
Furious, Lynch said she went up to the bus driver and demanded to know what had happened.
“He just smiled and shrugged,’’ she said. She called school officials but no one got back to her, so the following week she had her older son took Mark into the principal's office to tell her, reported The Globe.
“I just thought they were going to call the parents, tell us both to come in and make the boys shake hands,’’ Lynch said. Or, at least, make the other boy return her son's gloves. Instead, Tynan Elementary school officials began questioning Mark about his role in the scuffle.
“They didn’t believe me,’’ Curran told The Globe on Thursday. “I didn’t get my gloves back.’’
Tynan Elementary School Principal Leslie Gant didn't believe that Mark was acting out of self-defense, Lynch told The Globe.
“She said, ‘It doesn’t matter who hit who first,’ ’’ Lynch said. “‘He said he hit him in the testicles. That’s assault. That’s sexual assault.’"
I said: ‘The kid choked my son first and that’s called attempted murder. He said he couldn’t breathe.’’’
The school sent a letter to stating her son was accused of sexual harassment and endangering physical safety of other students.
A hearing for Curran will be held on Monday.
Lynch has told the school she doesn't want her son riding the bus without an adult there to make sure he's safe.
More news and feature stories from msnbc.com:
Leave a Comment:
It is, lock the kid up. Its the only way we are going to teach kids these days some respect. He knew what he was doing and chose to punch him there. It's sexual assault and he should be tried as an adult.
Then the other boy needs to be charged for attempted murder and theft, and tried as an adult.
You best be trollin'.
you're jokin, right?
You're joking, right?
@vivian. are you completely INSANE!?!?! I've seen other posts by you and I think you are completely off your rocker! So if this kid was choked, that is technically attempted murder (premeditated maybe?). yes, the schools are getting out of control on what how they handle kids. Guess what? When i was in first grade, i kicked a kid in the groin and I had the same thing done to me! It's called kids being kids. Instead of making these kids grow up so fast, let them be kids first.
Vivian if it really self defence, the first thing you are taught to hit somewhere it will make the most impact. And try a 7 year old as an adult. I do not know what world you are living in but it is not with the rest of us
Are you crazy or just being a troll!!!
This is such a crock. For a school to even think of leveling sexual harassment charges against a seven year old for punching another kid in the nads who was choking him is patently absurd. The fact the the kids story is backed up by the fact that the other kid took his gloves makes this even crazier. If I were this mother I would file a civil lawsuit against the school district for failing to protect her son and keep him safe on the school bus. The bus driver was either oblivious to what was going on or did not care. In either case the driver's actions, or lack thereof, are inexcusable. In addition, the mother should go to the local DA and file a criminal complaint against the other kid. If he was indeed choking her son to the point where he could not breathe it is clearly assault and warrants some action be taken. Unlike some posters below, I do not think this is attempted murder since I doubt a seven year old understands what murder is enough to form the intent. This was a fight between two children and assault charges against the one who started it are appropriate due to the apparent viciousness of the attack and if for no other reason than the get the kid some help. It will also get the parents attention that they need to do something about their kid's behavior. The school district is out of their minds to try and make any case at all for this being a sexually related attack.
Hope this is sarcasm.
Thank you, Randy. It seems to me that they never investigated the other side of the incident and the other kid was never taken to task. Two wrongs don't make a right, but what rights does a victimized child feel like he or she has when no one will listen?
Viv is here to stir the crap. Do not feed the troll.
Damn, what are things coming to now days when you can't even hit someone in the nuts? I remember back in the day when you were told to kick or hit someone in the nuts if they were messing with you. Well, I am still telling my son, if someone is messing with you and you cannot get to an adult. Sack him in da nuts and make a run for it! Just make sure you connect son, make sure you connect, cuz if you miss, it could spell trouble.
Vivian's certifible crazy. I only read her posts for their entertainment value.
and you should be banished from the planet earth
The sad thing is that children who are bullied are left with NO recourse. This is unacceptable. Children need to be able to defend themselves because attacks DO happen. Until the school system can ELIMINATE bullies, children need to be able to protect themselves!
You haven't got a clue, Vivian, and apparently the school board is in PC mode... over kids fighting??? and a punch in the balls??? WTF is going on with our esteemed educational facilities today... they're treating 7 year olds like criminals for stuff that has gone on for centuries... Sexual harassment? Oh, gimme a freakin' break!
Exactly, and any woman who defends herself from an assailant and attacks him in the groin should be charged as a sexual predator.
OMG, I can't believe how ridiculous American schools are getting. Clearly the bully and his mom went to the principal first so he is the perceived victim as choking as deadly assault it clearly trumped by any kind of sexual assault.... and you know 3rd graders, uncontrollable sexual fiends the lot of them. Aren't there schools for bullies to go? Every county has them and they're called Juvenile Hall.
All you guys that responded to Vivian,'s post need to go back to the same grade as this kid and have your mommy re-explain how to deal with these type of people.
Vivian,, keep up the good work. I used to get mad but now I appreciate what you do.
Now I am going to go ahead and post the school's phone number. It is 617-635-8641
It was found easily using a google search which resulted in the following result: http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/school/tynan-elementary-school
The school should have looked into this and questioned the kids on the bus. The driver did not care or he would have done something. As far as school officials they don't want to get involved and will what ever is the easiest way out. Believe it or not the bully wins 99% of the time. Been there with my Grandsons and we finally had to move them to another district. First was the kick to groin, nothing was done, than the threat to kill again nothing was done and finally a fist to the nose and again nothing was done so we moved them. All this time it was boys will be boys and we never got back the coats or any thing else this bully took. Go figure.
wait...........a 7 year old should be tried as an adult?..........really?...wow, drop the crack pipe and walk away.
Vivian, you are a damn moron and so is anyone else you agrees with you! People like you are the reason our world is going to sh*t!
And nobody else thinks that this is sarcasm?
This is silly. Two kids fighting on the school ground and one is choking the other and then the other racks up his balls and put and end to the fight. This is not sexual harassment. This is two kids fighting and one kid getting the upper fist into the groin of the other.
What next. Women who take self defense classes and kicks a man in his ball-sak are now going to be accused of sexual harassment.
Kudos to the kid that gave the school bully a lesson to be learned.
This is ridiculous. What ever happened to common sense in this world!!! Geez...
You are right. It can't be sexual harassment if they don't even know what sex is or harassment for that matter.
This is what the left is leading us into, a country with no common sense! 7 year old's don't know about sex yet... Unless they go to school in a left wing state where they teach SEX- ED to kindergarteners.
Even if they knew what sexual harassment was, it wouldn't constitute sexual harassment. If two girls get in a fist fight and one punches the other in the chest, are they going to charge that girl with sexual harassment for having physical contact with a breast? A fight is a fight. The kid got punched where it hurts, and if the part about him choking the kid is correct, then the kid deserved to be punched there. If you take Karate classes, they teach you that if somebody is attacking you, you go for the locations on their body that evoke the most pain for the attacker so you can deter them from continuing their attack. When I was a little kid, I was told to strike the groin if possible since it is usually the easiest to strike. Are we going to now charge all karate schools with teaching kids to be sexual harassers?
This is the essence of political correctness, especially when it is enforced by people that are completely devoid of anything resembling common sense. As further proof of the lack of common sense of these imbeciles, one only need observe them stubbornly defending their actions. They should be removed as far away from children as possible.
AKRandy is a perfect example of someone without common sense...
It died years ago. In the early 80's I had a run in with a kid on the school bus. I was bigger and older so after the thrid time of complaining to the driver I picked him up and carried him to the front of the bus and planted him in front of the driver and told him if it happen again i was hauling his ass in front of the school board for not doing his job. I got called inyto the office to be punished for manhandling the kid. That same kid attacked me at a football game later. I froged marched the kid up to the police officer working the game and told him to find the kid's parents before me or somebody else kills him. The cop found the parents and told them they and their child had to leave the game. They were also told I was prepared to press assult charges if the matter did not stop. If I pressed charges the boy would be expiled for 6 months and face a juvenal record.
This isn't even worth discussing other than to say that it looks like our society has finally gone completely insane! We've completely lost our marbles charging a 7 year old with sexual harrassment.
Just be patient. Now that it is public information, the school will have to evaluate the insanity of its decision and administer a different punishment. I am sure there is an attorney contacting the parent to work pro bona to help aid in its resolution.....publicly.
Funny things is.......school administrators should be educated in child development and know there was nothing sexual intended---degrading or otherwise. Just self defense or a fight.
No. It's not.
How does a moron become principal of a school?
Lisa:
So you think a 7 year old should be charged like this??? So left wing of you...
No Randy, what Lisa said is she thinks YOU are ridiculous for blaming the "Left" for this idiotic decision on behalf of the principal. Stop being so knee jerk, not everything has to do with politics. Idiocy knows no political boundaries.
This seems like another case of bullying (from the kid who stole the gloves). This is not sexual assult either. Self defense classes sometimes teach you to do the groin punch/kick.
Assault? Yes. Dishonorable? Most likely. Dangerous? Possibly. Sexual harrassment? Absolutely not.
No AK what she was referring to was your comment about the left being the cause of the the sexual harassment claim. Actually I believe you were just trolling and deliberately took Lisa's comment out of context
This is exactly why a forced government monopoly on education (union run public schools) is WRONG.
Students need vouchers and the option to pay for a school of their choice.
Let idiots like this Boston school principal try to continue their stupidty with no students and no money.
Wow, madison you fimally said something worth saying.
No..Madison you are still in la la land. goverment monopoly is wrong, union run public schools is wrong and the two subjects are not interchangeable. I would interested to see your evidence of those claims. Quit trolling
I wonder if the Principal wrote this article ....." following week she had her older son took Mark into the principal's office to tell her........"
It's hard to tell if the writer got the info straight.
The way things are going these days..the world is doomed.
If the boy defended himself, and he is being charged for sexual harassment for punching another boy in the groin, then:
If a woman is going to be raped and punches the person in the groin, can her assaulter sue her for sexual harrassment?
The one child had this child in a headlock, would this be sexual harrassment or rape? Maybe he was trying to force the child to give him oral sex.
Utterly ridiculous though.
Also, if the one child stole this childs gloves, how come he wasn't arrested for assault, burglary, and possession of stolen property?
I'm hoping this boy and Mom sue the school, district, bus driver, and the family and win a BUNDLE.
My wife found this funny, she said "I went thru self defense classes and based on this logic from the school if i am ever attacked by a man and punch or knee him in the groin, i should be arrested for sexual assault"....i'll stop laughing in a few hours.
I’ve seen numerous self defense classes for women and one of the primary targets they’re taught to strike is the groin area of the assailant. By this moron’s logic, the woman who is defending herself thusly would be charged with sexual assault. This woman is more qualified to be a chamber maid than a principal. At least in that capacity she wouldn’t be required to think.
Doesn't intent have something to do with sexual harassment? Seems to me this was not the kids intent.
I think the mother should counter-sue, saying that the choker was forcibly performing autoerotic asphyxiation on the puncher.
Legally speaking, no, intent doesn't matter with sexual harassment.
That said - if this little boy was being choked, I see his actions as self-defense and not as sexual harassment.
Does this mean every kid who has a dust up in the play-ground will be charged with assault? Do we start charging a 6 years old who looks at her friends quiz answers with fraud?
Honestly even without the choking I would not see this sexual harassment, the person must understand and be fully aware what they are doing could be construed as such and I would think this would not be the case with a 7 year old.
This make a mockery of the law and is potentially damaging to the children involved.
Bravo, Kyle! That's awesome
I agree with Kyle...which means it should not be classified as harassment, but as "rough sex"
Krestov, I agree that even without the choking it's not sexual harassment. I'm not sure if your comment was to me or not; I was simply saying that in sexual harassment laws, intent of the action doesn't matter. If the choking hadn't occurred, the question would be could a 7-year-old that punches another child in the groin be committing sexual harassment. I don't think that the sexual harassment laws could rightly be applied in that circumstance. Perhaps assault, but not sexual harassment. Again - if the boy was choked, then I don't think he should be charged with anything - he was defending himself. If he wasn't choked or otherwise physically assaulted, then I can see him getting in trouble.
If true, this is outrageous. It doesn't matter who hit first? That's crap. Of course it matters.
This is @!$%#ing absurd. SO @!$%#ing absurd. How sick a society have we become?
Oh and by the way: http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/school/tynan-elementary-school
Are you f***ing kidding me. A 7 year old punching another 7 year old is not sexual assult. Heck if I was being choked I would do the same. Even if it was unprovoked, its still not sexual harrasment. Besides don't you have to know what sex is before it's a sex crime?
Someone needs to buy the school a dictionary and a clue. Assault is assault. Punching someone in the junk - or choking them - is assult. Fondling someone's junk is inappropriate touching. Doing it repeatedly or pressuring them to make out behind the shed after school? That's sexual harassment.
I'd also push for cameras on the busses or put one in my kid's backpack.
in addition......the mother should file a complaint for fraudualent conversion--they still have the gloves which are her personal property! I would make this so uncomfortable for the school, have them explain to a judge how a 7 year old sexually harassed another child by hitting him in the 'privates' during a fight and why they waited so long to have a meeting!
that's sexual harrassment.....freakin' kid's 7......did he kiss him first before he punched him in his pecans????.....then I can see it :-)
This is going to end very badly for that school.
I suggest she file a criminal assault complaint against the other child. I wonder if the parents of the bully and the school administration can be investigated for obstruction of justice or concealing a crime?
I agree. Being the litigious society that we are, I feel that the parents of the kid that got chocked should file charges against the bus driver for negligence, the school for failing to protect the child as well as slander for suggesting that the boy sexually assaulted someone and charges should absolutely be file on the child and his parents for assault, theft, slander, harrassment, and I'm sure some sharp attorney could find a few more to throw into the mix.
I hope they have to pay a lot of $$$$... that usually makes a difference in changing policy with stupid crap like this.
How do you know the other kid is a bully? What if this kid is the bully and the other kid finally had enough, grabbed his gloves and snapped?
Perhaps we as people should find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions about what did and didn't happen and why.
Either way, to say it was sexual harassment and allow that much time to pass prior to addressing the issue is a problem. Plus, they now have her personal property---the coveted gloves!
That so called Female principal is a total idiot and should be fired and hog tied and ran outta town
sexual harassment?...wtf...the whole world is goin FRACKIN crazy!
If this kid is charged his mom had better sue that crazy azz biatch principal and the whole school board...damn this just blows my mind.....( shakes head )
What a dumb decision. I am so stinking tired of political correct stupid people. Go find a island to live on and leave the rest of us alone.
This has nothing to do with political correctness. This is outright stupidity, a total abandonment of common sense, and an incomprehensible lapse of judgement that kids are kids, not adults. 7 year olds don't understand sex if they even know what it is!
Is this really what we are coming to as a nation? A first grader charged with sexual assault!? Competely rediculous. How many little kid scuffles did all of us get in at that age. I was choked by a kid for almost a year before I finally fought back and realized if I don't let someone pick on me, they will go to the next kid. This is part of growing up and learning how to handle situations. So our lesson to kids now a days are that when ANYTHING happens that you don't like, let's blow it out of proporation.
Did they also charge this other violent 1st grade offender with being a bully for choking the first kid? How about theft for the gloves? They better get control of this completely out of control behavior before they grow up and turn into life long criminals!! (yes that is sarcasm)
I got a softball to the nuts when I was 12. Can I retroactively press charges against the softball?
@pragmatic---evidently...you can try...
No pragmatic, you can't - but you can file against the batter, who obviously was trying to cop a feel when he hit that softball into your groin.
Good job Mark. I really hope you get your gloves back. Smash that bullie in the balls. If he does it again, smash em again. He will learn that every time he messes with you, his balls will hurt. Pain is all bullies understand, so give him all he ask's for.
Or be more honorable and kick his ass instead.
Spartan huh?...You find honor or not in the cause of the fight....then you defeat your enemies any way that works...I bet you Leonidas would have sent those nads up around that kids ears if he needed to do so to win.....do you think that Spartans and other ancient warriors didnt hit there? Seriously? I can see it now..."Wait wait...no fair!!" I agree with jim...make it hurt every single time.
.
If the other boy stole his gloves and chocked him, a nut shot was in order. I don't however see how it could be sexual harassment, makes no sence to me.
It was self defense, not sexual harrasment. The principle is an idiot. I had a principle accuse my son of sexual harassment when he was eight for looking over the stall in the boys bathroom to see if another kid was still in there. The kid had a habit of going into the stalls and locking them and crawling under the door so other kids couldn't get in. That can be very bad when you have a child that has to go now the stalls are all empty and locked. She was appalled that he might have seen the other boys privates if he had actually been going to the bathroom. I asked her if it she would charge all the boys in a gym locker room with sexual harassment since they all shower and change in front of each other, she was silent.
The school is begging for a lawsuit. I hope they get it. Morons!
This is getting ridiculous! Accusing a 7 year old kid of sexual assault? At 7 most kids don't even know what that is! I seriously hope the school fully looks into the incident before they dare claim the kid was sexually assaulting another kid. We teach kids that they need to stand up for themselves against bullies, and then punish them when they do. What kind of message are we sending to them that way?
I'm going to sue my employer. My office chair commits sexual assault every time I sit down on it, and I'm not going to, um, "stand" for it anymore!
You have got to be F-ing KIDDING ME!!! This kid was bullied on the bus and now the school is taking the lead by accusing him of sexual harrassment! This principle needs to really sit down and re-examine her role in public education. I am so proud of the mother for standing up for her son and I hope that the school realized what a stupid mistake they are making by going this route.
I'm not a boy, but raised a couple. At this age, boys know what really can hurt another boy. He was being bullied and acted in self defense in my opinion. Sexual harassment charge is ridiculous!
This will just muddy the waters for a REAL sexual harassment charge. They should make the boys apologize to each other and shake hands. They are little boys for petes sake... pete's sate!
I agree that the sexual harassment charge is the wrong way to handle it but making the boys apologize and shake hands is just as bad. Are you kidding me? Why is that even a punishment?
Folks, this is why we have violence in schools. There are too many people that don't take bullying seriously. Yes, legal charges are over the top, but violence needs to be met with punishment severe enough to make the child not want to do it again. (And make the parents want to do their jobs and teach kids not to be violent.)
And before someone trots out the old "all kids get into scuffles" nonsense, let me say that you are WRONG. In my life I never attacked someone else. Not once. Why? Because my parents acted like parents and taught me not to do that. I knew that there would be one hell of a punishment waiting for me if I ever did.
If your only response to violence is to say "Now, now, that's not nice. Say you're sorry" -- well you might as well wink and nudge and whisper "now go get him again, ha ha ha" to the bully.
The reason some kids get into fights does not correlate with bad parenting. You sound like you were more laid back and complient--it was your temperament. Some kids are impulsive, some have been taunted for such a long time that they just want to stop the pain. Either way, the assumption you made that kids that fight have bad parents is purely out of ignorance and lack of education.
Seriously? Sexual Harrassment? Way to teach our kids how to be perpetual victims- never responsible for their actions. Great message mom.
This is a major problem with the way kids are being raised today! If they cheat, parents side with their kids and sue the school; if they are failing, blame the teachers; and if they defend themselves in a fight....it's sexual harrassment?
Bad Bad Bad Parenting.
How is it the mother's fault in this case? She's not claiming it was sexual assault, she's saying her son defended himself.
In this case it is on the school for making such a ridiculous claim. Mom just wanted the school to talk to the boys and get her son's gloves back.
The parents of the boy who was hit need to teach him not to be a little thief, not sue the child defending himself.
I'd like to know their relationship with the school officials. Sounds like someone is getting special treatment.
That principal should be bounced for stupidity.
Welcome to the new world, your child can be bullied on and that's fine, hell the other kid can choke your kid that's fine. If your kid fights back well what did he do to causes the other kid to attack your kid and if your kid fights back well sorry, but he is now suspended. Stuff like this happens every single day. Hell I had to take my son off the bus and start taking him to school myself, since there are two boys who kept assaulting my son on the bus. Even though it was seen on an on board bus camera of the boys moving from seat to seat and ending up behind my child. They can be seen hitting my son in the head and you can see my son going to another seat closer to the bus driver and those boys following him and continuing to hit him, before my son ends up hitting them back and knocking one to the bus floor, before they leave him alone.
Yet the school suspended my son off the bus, but the parents of the two boys tried to file assault charges against my son. Now the charges never went anywhere with the police. Yet even with the video the school says my son was the instigator in this. I have had it out with the Principle of my son’s school several times; I even called the superintendent of the school board over this issue and in the end. What did they do about it, well they fired my wife from her job with the school as a substitute teacher since she also made a huge stink over this incident on the bus and it’s not the first one with the two boys.
It was not in tell last month that we found out that the parents of these two boys one is a big time members of the PTA and donate tons of money to the school district and the other one's is friends with the principle of my son’s school.
Even in school related stuff it’s all political now days.
I would sue the school for discrimination and retaliation for standing up for what is right. What are they trying to teach these kids that do wrong. That it is ok to do wrong as long as your parents know someone or has alot of money. When they get older and they end up in juvie or jail then who will they blame. Parents think it is all about money and who you know not about teach children respect and kindness for their fellow student.
If somebody had me by the throat I'd be squeezing his nads til they popped!
Shoot them all including the idiot who calls this "news".
the phukin morons! you have to know what sex is first in order for it to be sexual harassment.
Sounds to me like the bully got exactly what he/she deserved, so, why is the school defending the bully? If I were the parent, I'd be suing the school district for discrimination, aiding and abetting theft, accessory after the fact, and child endangerment! Child social services should be all over this one and the school should be closed! {:-)}
"the bully got exactly what he/she deserved"
Don't think "she" would've had a sack of nuts! But I agree the bully got exactly what he deserved.
Agreed; school officials in this case are incompetent morons.
OMG! I was sexually harassed so many times when I was in grade school and did not know it. A girl in 5th graded kissed me, I just remembered that. All my repressed memories of playing spin the bottles and fist fights where a guy kicked me in the nads are coming back.
The school administrators are way to stupid to be running things that involve 7 year old children.
I am with the mother on this, what about the attempted murder? Oh I know they probably consider choking another kid as consensual sex.