Strip Search Of 10-Year-Old Prompts Complaint Against Elementary School

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2012-12-16 19:18

Story here. Excerpt:

'The parents of a 10-year old Union elementary school student have filed a complaint against the school for strip-searching their son to find an allegedly stolen $20 bill.

In a complaint filed against assistant principal Teresa Holmes on Dec. 6, the family of Clinton, N.C., fifth-grader Justin Cox allege their son was ordered to remove his socks, shoes, pants and shirt so the principal could conduct a manual search for a $20 bill that was inevitably found in the cafeteria.

Holmes defended her actions saying that several other students and a few other faculty members told her the money was missing and they had seen the fifth-grader dive below the table for it. The court filing states that Holmes told the boy “he left her no choice and that she had to search him,” when the boy pulled out his pockets and didn’t produce the allegedly stolen money.
...

She told the 10-year old that she had the authority to search him “because teachers and other students thought Justin had the money.”

However, another teacher came into the office at the same time and said that the money had “miraculously” been found on the floor of the cafeteria.

Holmes defended her actions after the fact, telling WRAL-TV, “Any staff member who has ever worked with me knows that I care for my students and that even when I have to discipline them, I love them.”

Holmes hugged the boy and apologized, but Justin’s mother says this is not enough.'

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Comments

She did in fact have a choice: sit him in "the office", call his parent(s) to tell them he was suspected of having stolen $20 and they needed to come and talk to him. If he was going to be searched, they would be the ones to do it, not her. Or if she couldn't locate the parents, then call the police.

Need I ask: Would a male principal even think of doing this to a female student?

And another thing: The article reports she hugged the boy later. Remember the story abt. the little boy who hugged his teacher and got accused of sexual harassment because of it? Beyond ludicrous, yet an adult female violates a male child's personal boundaries like this and she isn't under arrest? Not only does this female principal illegally strip-search a child, she further violates his boundaries by hugging him after she violates them by stripping him. She belongs in jail.

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Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2012-12-16 19:31