Another school kid charged with sexual harrassment

[mandym]

A 14-year-old Missouri boy with Down syndrome whose mother says he “gives people hugs all the time” has been suspended from middle school for allegedly sexually harassing a bus aide, a school official told FoxNews.com.

Desi Mayberry, Central R-III School District superintendent, told FoxNews.com that Aleczander Fujiomoto, of Park Hills, Mo., grabbed an unidentified female bus aide while aboard a school bus last Wednesday and imitated a "sexual act" while on top of the woman, who is no longer considering pressing charges for sexual harassment.

"He grabbed her around her waist, like a bear hug, and then he gets on top of her and moves in a sexual motion, imitating a sexual act," Mayberry said.....

....Regarding the alleged sex act, the boy's mother denied those claims.

"There was no such thing," she told KSDK.com. "He was excited. And I feel like when he gets excited and he hugs me, it's like Christmas morning. He'll come up and give me a hug you know. And he'll be jumping up and down. And I feel like that may be what she experienced. I don't think his act was sexual in nature. He gives people hugs all the time."

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/1...ssing-bus-aide/?test=latestnews#ixzz1h5Au4EKf

 

[David Lamb]

It is no easy thing to draw the line between the normal over-friendliness often displayed by those with Downe's Syndrome, and actions done from s*xual motives by someone with the syndrome. I came across examples of both in my career as a teacher in a special school.

I noticed that the mother said: "The teachers and the administrators are not educated on children with developmental disabilities," but bus aides surely need some sort of training so that they know how to react to children with special needs on their bus, not just those with Downe's Syndrome, but epilepsy, autism, and many other conditions. How else can they possibily be expected to do their job properly?

 

[marke]

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/1...ssing-bus-aide/?test=latestnews#ixzz1h5Au4EKf

Sexual harassment issues, like homosexual issues, suffer (too often, I'm afraid) at the hands of those with not the greatest of understanding. Christian perspectives about homosexuality, for example, are considered out of bounds and maybe even illegal by worldly standards and worldly standards rule the day we live in.

A boy with downs syndrome should be understood to have serious disabilities and all those involved with the care and transport of such disabled people should be fully aware of how to deal with those kind of disabilities. When I was a kid I volunteered to help with the disabled in a program called 'TARS' (teens aid the retarded) and I remember being around seriously disabled people (kids and adults) who could never be expected to be held accountable for their actions. Perhaps that was what caused the dropping of charges. Somebody with understanding brough the offended parties up to speed on common sense approaches to those kinds of problems.

 

[freeatlast]

I am not so sure I would condemn the school or the bus aid on this. Perhaps there was a miss-understanding and perhaps not. At 14 just because he has downs does not mean he is not interested sexually.
There was some mercy shown here by the person involved, but even if there was no intent by this child his actions need some correcting and if he is too mentally impaired to learn the correction then perhaps public education is not for him.