Security Questions Surround Grade-School Assault Case
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In recent meetings with parents, school officials here have sought to play down an incident in which a 9-year-old boy was arrested, accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl in a school bathroom. Parents have been cautioned not to jump to conclusions since the phrase ‘’sexual assault” legally encompasses everything from rape to improper touching. Gail Flaster, principal of the school where the incident took place, told parents at a meeting on Monday night, ”This was an isolated incident, and I knew there was no danger to any of your children if, in fact, anything happened in that bathroom.” But emerging details about the incident at Roxbury Elementary School bolster the impression that a crime may well have occurred, and that the system of safeguards that Ms. Flaster vouched for at the meeting may have chinks. Both children involved are second graders. Neither child’s name has been made public, and the police record is sealed because of their ages. School officials acknowledge that parents might never have learned about the case were it not for an April 15 article in The Advocate, the Stamford newspaper, about the boy’s imminent arrest. Now, it is all they can talk about. Parents waiting to pick up their children after school ask why a principal who regularly sends home notes did not alert them that something was amiss before they read it in the newspaper. Teachers ask if they could have done more to protect the girl, and pupils throughout the school exchange whispered versions of what they think happened. More : query.nytimes.com |