Poll: 7year old child charged with Sexual Assualt. Is this Sexual Assualt?

[Helmholtz Watson]

So apparently in Boston a first grader named Mark Curran, 7yrs old, is being charged with sexual assault because he punched one of his male classmates in the crouch. The story goes that Mark was being bullied on the bus and was being choked and had his gloves stolen, which resulted in Mark being charged with sexual assault because he responded to the bully by punching him in the crotch. When the school was asked as to why he was being charged, they stated that:
"Matthew Wilder, spokesman for the Boston public schools, declined to comment on the incident or why it has been classified as a possible case of sexual harassment. He said officials do not discuss confidential student information.

"Any kind of inappropriate touching would fall under that category," Wilder said. "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.""

What do you guys think, is this going too far?

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/12/02/first-grader-accused-sexual-harassment/yKSB1IUyXCeJgyyM164DIL/story.html

 

[SwimmingRock]

Oh, man. If this is how sexual assault works, me and every one of my childhood friends are guilty in some way. We learned from an early age that balls are the male weak spot and I got into quite a few fights as a tempermental youth. Seriously, isn't a key part of sexual assault that it needs to be sexual in some way? If the nose was the weakest spot, boys would be punching each other in the nose.

Holy shit, I just remembered a fad from when I was in high school where guys delivered sneaky nut punches to other guys as a kind of competition. Man, the arrests would pile up. What fresh lunacy America has wrought this day. I'm lovin' it, son. Alcohol is my friend.

 

[Zombie Izzard]

I miss the days when you got into fights in school and it would stay in school. No cops were called no charges were placed just a simple time out or suspension depending on how bad it was. And if this little boy is charged for this I hope the other one is charged with attempted murder. (Yes I reliaze that is stupid but so is the charge of sexual assult for a little kid trying to protect himself)

 

[BoredDragon]

wtf, How can you sexually assault someone if you are not even old enough to want to have sex?

 

[DarkRyter]

That's not sexual assault to punch someone in the dick but if some asshole took my gloves and tried to choke me, I probably would try something along the lines of asserting my dominance prison style.

 

[Helmholtz Watson]

And if this little boy is charged for this I hope the other one is charged with attempted murder. (Yes I reliaze that is stupid but so is the charge of sexual assult for a little kid trying to protect himself)

funny you say that, because that was almost exactly what the mother said.

 

[Mirror Cage]

A friend of mine was in a similar situation back in grade school. He tripped at the top of a flight of stairs and in his flailing to catch himself ended up grabbing a passing female's chest (I'm reasonably sure that he didn't orchestrate this just to cop a feel).
He got a similar charge, but was let off with a few therapy sessions with the school counselor.

I don't really see how that would be sexual assault. Regular assault, maybe. But doesn't the sexual kind require something...sexual to be done?

 

[Powereaver]

thats just stupid.. its self defense.. if i was being choked id wanna kick or punch my attacker also and i always got told by my mum that if i was ever in a situation like that to attack somewhere like the crotch because they are more likely to stop then and you got a chance to get away

 

[dickywebster]

So what sounds like assult and maybe attempted murder is fine, but self defence is suddenly a crime?
Then i noticed its american and some places there do have a bad habit of going a little ott with this kinda stuff...
Seem to remember a story where hugging was considered sexual assult...

 

[Scarim Coral]

So how is this different to any other scenario when the bullied victim fight back? Yes I did read he punch him in the balls but I assume he did it to maximize the pain to the bully.

 

[Something Amyss]

So what sounds like assult and maybe attempted murder is fine, but self defence is suddenly a crime?

Only if you cop a feel while doing it.

>.>

 

[OldKingClancy]

That counts as sexual assault? Excuse while I tell my friend, who recently kicked me in the nuts, that he just raped me.
Fucking hell this is just stupid, for one thing if he is charged that's going to fuck up that kids'.

 

[Folji]

Crotch punches count as sexual assaults now? Makes sense on a base level, attacking his private parts, but way to put that under an umbrella that usually covers things that can be pretty damn serious. And why are they seemingly overlooking the fact that the poor kid was being choked? (Or "caught in a life-threatening situation." If we're gonna pull in technical-sounding terms, let's just go to town on it.)

Someone should break that guy's stride.

 

[JoJo]

Ridiculous, not just because of the age of child and what he did but also because this sort of issue should be dealt with by the school, not the police. If this sort of law was used across the board then 99% of us would have at-least an assault charge by the time we left school (because what child doesn't get into fights?) If it was outside school property then common sense should prevail and the parents should sort things out. I would be surprised if this charge actually goes through though, in the UK he would be too young to even prosecute, the way things should be.

 

[omglazorspewpew]

Sexual Assault? Do they even know what that means? Unless the kid was punching him in the crotch to get off, its not Sexual Assault. There was nothing sexual about what he did at all other than he punched an area that is used in sex.

In most self defense classes aren't kids taught to go for the sensitive areas on a person's body if they are attacking you?

 

[KiloFox]

Ummm.... Is it even possible to charge a seven-year-old with sexual assault?

Besides, if he was getting strangled, wouldn't this count as self-defense?

Also, what is the proper technique for punching someone in the crotch? Is it a crouching jab type deal?

y'know what... this is all that really needs to be said...

and shit... i've even kicked guys in the groin... i'd probobly be a felon by now if i was charged... this is a bunch of bullshit...

 

[Viral_Lola]

Ummm.... Is it even possible to charge a seven-year-old with sexual assault?

Besides, if he was getting strangled, wouldn't this count as self-defense?

I agree. What are they going to charge the bully with? Aggravated assault and attempted murder?

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So apparently in Boston a first grader named Mark Curran, 7yrs old, is being charged with sexual assault because he punched one of his male classmates in the crouch.

There's nothing wrong with punching someone in the crouch, and it's certainly not sexual assault. Many types of martial arts employ crouching punches, including Tiger Style Kung Fu, Dragon Style Kung Fu, and of course Crouching Style Kung Fu.

 

[AZ03]

Wow...that's just...wow. Are they serious?

You know what? In a sort of sick, twisted, masochistic way, couldn't the kid who was choking the other classmate be considered performing a sexual assault? I'm not trying to be a jerk or sick or anything, but come on. If you can charge one kid with committing sexual assault for punching another kid in the groin, couldn't the one who was choking him also be considered performing the same lewd act?