Teen girls 'bullied' apparent autistic boy, authorities say

Submitted by Mastodon on Wed, 2014-03-12 20:40

Story here. This is a case of an alleged sexual assault, kidnapping, and attempted murder, not bullying. Excerpt:

'Two teenage girls in southern Maryland bullied an apparently autistic 16-year-old boy into performing sexual acts and crashing through pond ice in episodes they captured on cellphone video, authorities said Wednesday.

The girls, ages 17 and 15, threatened the teen with a knife, kicked him in the groin and dragged him around by his hair, said St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Cara Grumbels. They coerced him into walking on a partially frozen pond and then refused to help him out of the frigid water, she said.

Grumbles said the boy got out himself, but the prank could have turned deadly.

"You're dealing with somebody who doesn't have the mental capacity of you and I," she said. "Somebody like that could go into a kiddie pool and may not be able to get themselves out. That's what's really kind of disturbing to us, among the other allegations in this case. The whole thing's just very disturbing."

She said investigators haven't found any of the video online.

The 17-year-old, Lauren A. Bush, of Mechanicsville, was charged as an adult Tuesday with first- and second-degree assault, false imprisonment and solicitation for child pornography. She was released on her own recognizance.

The 15-year-old was charged as a juvenile with the same offenses and referred to the state Department of Juvenile Services. The sheriff's office didn't release her name.

Grumbles said both girls acknowledged they committed the offenses. A call to Bush's home wasn't returned. No defense attorney was listed in court records.'

Like0 Dislike0

Comments

Found two pages showing contact info for the county's state's attorney's office:

1. http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/supervisorofelections/electedofficials.asp

Scroll to bottom to find:

STATE'S ATTORNEY
Richard D. Fritz
22660 Washington Street
Leonardtown, MD 20650
-or-
P.O. Box 1755
Leonardtown, MD 20650

301-475-7844 ext 4500
Email: richard.fritz-at-stmarysmd.com

2. http://www.co.saint-marys.md.us/Circuit%20Court.asp

Scroll down about 8/10 of the way down the page to find:

OFFICE OF THE STATE’S ATTORNEY
41605 Courthouse Drive
P.O. Box 1755
Leonardtown 20650
(301) 475-7844 ext. 4500
FAX (301) 475-4596

OK, so there it is. Now the plan: Call/email/fax about this case. The problem at the moment? Well, as I see it, switch the sexes, and would the 17-YO be facing assault, or attempted murder if she were a he and the victim a she? There's no doubt in my mind he would. In Maryland, can someone under 18 be charged with murder or attempted murder? Yes. Read it here. In fact, back in 2012, a 12-YO boy killed (murdered? ... depends on how you feel about whether or not a 12-YO can be culpable for murder; personally, I think it's entirely possible, but maybe not in all cases) a 2-YO toddler in Maryland and got charged with murder. The story is reported here. Back to this case, not knowing all the details, I am not seeing anything here about at least a sexual battery charge, but they appear to have done that to him, too.

No p*ssy passes. But please, don't use that phrase in any communication with the state's attorney. :)

If/when you do call/write/fax/email, remember you will be making contact with a PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE. This means anything you say that sounds like it might be threatening, even rhetorically, can be construed as such and they can (and may well) come after you for it. No one likes strangers, not even concerned citizens, calling and venting on their staff or them. Bear in mind state attorneys (i.e., district attorneys as known elsewhere, Crown's attorneys other places, and so on) have the power to issue some kinds of arrest warrants and to personally take people into custody (i.e., make arrests) in most places they function within their jurisdictions, at least here in the US and also (I think) Canada (someone from Canada, correct me if I am wrong on that). Judges can do so also, at least here in the U.S. If you are pestering a state attorney or equivalent from outside their jurisdiction, they only have to pick up a phone and report it to a colleague in your jurisdiction and presto, you got a warrant on you for harassing/threatening a public official, even if said official is not local.

So, best thing to do is just gather the facts as reported. Say you understand from the article that the girls are facing certain charges and you think they are not nearly sufficient. [Assuming of course you're in agreement with me. :) ] Point out that you believe there is a pattern double-standard in the charges and rates of prosecution females of all ages are subject to and if indeed the sexes of the people involved here were switched, at least the 17-YO would be facing an attempted murder charge as well as one or more sexual battery charges. There may also be other laws in Maryland that specifically apply greater penalties to assault or molestation of a person incapable of giving consent or who is mentally handicapped. And if there are, there's no doubt a male perp would be facing those, too.

The current charges against the girls may be provisional at this time. The state's attorney has some time to finalize the exact charges to file with the court/pass to the grand jury, so indeed, the current charges may be "holding charges" until they decide what exactly to do here. But by letting the Mr. Fritz and/or the asst. state prosecutor assigned to the case know you and 10,000 of your closest friends are watching this one, there's a much better chance to see justice done. This poor kid almost died. As a mentally handicapped person, and especially an adolescent, the level of trauma he has had is probably felt yet even greater than that of a developmentally typical person his own age -- and adolescence is hard enough without being abused like this and nearly killed by a couple of teenage sociopaths who are a lot less likely to be held accountable for their actions just because they have vaginas and their victim has a penis -- unless people like ourselves make sure justice at least stands a chance of getting done, and a clear message is sent to anyone else, male or female, that especially vulnerable people like this are to be left in peace.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by Matt on Thu, 2014-03-13 02:10

This story makes me sick. I agree with Matt's comments, especially about putting pressure on law enforcement and prosecutors . Boys need the MRA to step up or things like this will keep happening. Maybe next time it will be one of our male loved-ones.

I also think calling attention and putting pressure on the media to use the correct terminology in their headlines is in order as well. This is sexual assault and attempted murder, not bullying.

School is a very dangerous place for kids.

Like0 Dislike0
Submitted by Kris on Thu, 2014-03-13 02:51