Boy, 6, faces sexual rap
Source: Agencies |
May 6, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
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A SIX-YEAR-OLD American boy was suspended from his suburban Denver school in Arizona for three days after school officials say he told a girl "I'm sexy and I know it," a line from a popular song.
The first-grader at Sable Elementary School in Aurora is accused of sexual harassment and disrupting other students, according to a letter the school district sent to his mother after he was sent home on Wednesday.
School officials issued a statement saying they couldn't discuss the case, but they pointed out a school board policy that defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual advance. There is no age limit.
The Aurora Police Department said it was not involved in the case because laws only cover kids aged 10 and above.
The boy's mother, Stephanie Meadows, said her son doesn't know the meaning of sexual harassment. It's the second time her son has gotten in trouble for quoting the song, she said.
"I'm just, I'm floored," Meadows told KMGH-TV. "They're going to look at him like he's a pervert. And it's like, that's not fair to him."
Denver attorney Craig Silverman said elementary school students have the same rights to free speech as adults as long as they understand and follow the rules. He said school policies should allow for exceptions.
"Sometimes when you go to a zero-tolerance policy, you end up with a zero-sense policy," he said.
The first-grader at Sable Elementary School in Aurora is accused of sexual harassment and disrupting other students, according to a letter the school district sent to his mother after he was sent home on Wednesday.
School officials issued a statement saying they couldn't discuss the case, but they pointed out a school board policy that defines sexual harassment as any unwelcome sexual advance. There is no age limit.
The Aurora Police Department said it was not involved in the case because laws only cover kids aged 10 and above.
The boy's mother, Stephanie Meadows, said her son doesn't know the meaning of sexual harassment. It's the second time her son has gotten in trouble for quoting the song, she said.
"I'm just, I'm floored," Meadows told KMGH-TV. "They're going to look at him like he's a pervert. And it's like, that's not fair to him."
Denver attorney Craig Silverman said elementary school students have the same rights to free speech as adults as long as they understand and follow the rules. He said school policies should allow for exceptions.
"Sometimes when you go to a zero-tolerance policy, you end up with a zero-sense policy," he said.
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