12 Year old girl broke boys jaw (Self defense)

[kkilroy]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

My 12 Year Old Daughter was getting harrassed (touched and pushed around)by a boy in gym class.

She went to Gym Teacher to get help. Gym teacher blew her off and said it was a flirty thing. She went back to class and the boy kept touching and pushing her and said "What can a little sissy girl do, go ahead hit me",She punched him and broke his jaw. 1 punch was thrown.

The school sent her home on bus with a 3 day suspension. Boy recieved no punishment from school.

I contacted school before they called me.

Boy's grandmother filed assult charges with police against my daughter.

The school did not interview any witnesses until the next day. The kids interviewed said they did not see the boy push her around and they where playing. She can produce a couple of kids that will verify her story. And the Teacher has a written statement to the fact that she did in fact come to him for assistance and he thought it to just be flirting so he did nothing. I think my daughter was being sexually harrassed and the teacher condoned it.

Is this a case of a victim being prosecuted. She has been

Am I liable for the boys medical, can I be sued? What should my next steps be to protect my daughter for defending herself?

Any comments would be helpful. I can't afford a lawyer and not sure what to do.

 

[stephenk]

contact your homeowner's insurance carrier. If your daughter and you are sued, the carrier would be the ones to defend your daughter.

Your daughter does have a problem in that her breaking his jaw is disproportinate to the boy "pushing"? her around. Was she being hurt by his pushing? Was he doing it in a joking manner or was he angry/mean/aggressive? Had he ever pushed her around before? If yes, did she report it to her teachers or to you?

 

[kkilroy]

I have a written statement from the teacher that the boy was picking and pushing her around the day before and she went to him right before she hit the boy.

I think this to be sexual harassment as he even pushed her breasts (she's an early bloomer) right before she did this.

 

[HomeGuru]

I applaud your daughters actions.

 

[hmmbrdzz]

I applaud her, too. And I think it's very significant that she went to a gym teacher before she broke this jerk's jaw. The gym teacher, in essence, has admitted in a statement that your daughter complained about this harassment and that the gym teacher did nothing because he/she thought it was "flirting". Well, the big question is -- what kind of flirting is tolerated and how did the gym teacher conclude it was flirting of a tolerable degree?

I think it's a good case of defending herself against a sexually assaultive boy. Fight it tooth and nail, deny the charges of assault, claim self defense, and allege your daughter was sexually harassed and assaulted by this guy. Don't bend. Take it to the superintendent of schools and wherever else you have to go above someone else's head to get the school's support and your daughter cleared of all wrong-doing and the gym teacher in the hot seat.

Good luck.


hmmbrdzz

 

[hexeliebe]

Just a question

Did your daughter tell the boy to stop before going to the teacher.

Seems to me this is a clear case of "No means No" and if the boy didn't know that before he sure does now.

Believe me, I'm not condoning violence in any form. But as the father of two young girls I've taught my daughters to do exactly as yours did, try to resolve the issue first by saying STOP, and if that doesn't work ask a teacher to intervene and if that doesn't work defend herself.

If nothing else, seems you may have a cause of action against the school if this goes that far. But contact the district attorney in your area to see what's going to happen in the case.

As I've said before in this and other forums, anyone can sue anyone for anything. Whether the grandmother does or not is not under your control. All you can do is prepare yourself in the even she does. If the facts of the case are as you've written here, although your daughter may be held liable (and that's not a given yet) the school could also be held liable for taking no action.