Sex Offense
This case brings out different emotions.
The guys I’ve talked to seem to feel “boys will be boys,” though many do feel the girls were victims of a sort.
The women feel much more strongly that the girls were victimized.
My sense is the boys need to be punished. But not as harshly as the district attorney wants them punished.
Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison, both 13, were arrested in February after they were caught in the halls of Patton Middle School, in McMinnville, Ore., slapping girls on the rear end. Mashburn told ABC News in a phone interview that this was a common way of saying hello practiced by lots of kids at the school, akin to a secret handshake.
The boys spent five days in a juvenile detention facility and were charged with several counts of felony sex abuse for what they and their parents said was merely inappropriate but not criminal behavior.
The local district attorney has since backed off — the felony charges have been dropped and the district attorney said probation would be an appropriate punishment. The Mashburns’ lawyer said prosecutors offered Cory a plea bargain that would not require him to register as a sex offender, which the family plans to reject.
But the boys, if convicted at an Aug. 20 trial, still face the possibility of some jail time or registering for life as sex offenders.
More:
Cory Mashburn said he and Ryan Cornelison slapped each others’ and other kids’ bottoms every Friday. “Lots of kids at school do that,” he said.
Cory and Ryan were brought to the principal’s office Feb. 22, where they were questioned by school officials and a police officer. They were arrested that day and taken in handcuffs to a juvenile detention facility.
Court papers said the boys touched the buttocks of several girls, some of whom said this made them uncomfortable. The papers also said Cory touched a girl’s breasts. But police reports filed with the court said other students, both boys and girls, slapped each other on the bottom.
“It’s like a handshake we do,” one girl said, according to the police report.
I’ve been reading about this case. I was in Rhodes summer 2000 and was surrounded by a gang of boys and spanked! I swung my purse at them, but I wouldn’t say they were sex offenders. Geez, the whole country would be in jail.
Boys will be boys, but one day they’ll be men. They ought to learn it now.
Donna - It took me a minute to do the math … when I first read your comment I thought you were saying it happened to you in junior high … LOL … that’s a completely different mental picture.
actor - Are you saying that boys should be punished as if they were men in this situation? I’m sorry but I disagree. I understand they need to be taught a lesson, but registering as sex offenders (for the rest of their lives) seems out of balance with the offense.
No, I was an adult! Frankly, I think that’s worse!
I can see how it is worse.
But the juxtaposition between what I originally thought and what really happened struck my as absurd.
Worse?? What’s wrong with a little public stranger-on-stranger spankey spank??!
On second thought, I think I’d like to remove that last comment from the internet.
Paul,
No, I’m not suggesting they get adult punishment. What I am suggesting is that a little punishment now will prevent a lot of bad behavior later.
As an example, in third grade my daughter was suspended for three days for throwing a fart bomb. YOu may have seen these in novelty stores: they are little mylar bags that contain two smaller bags that, when cracked open, mix chemicals to create methane that is enough to split the main bag and well, smell like a fart.
As upset as I was at the school, I realized that they had a point: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Similarly in this situation, while the boys should be allowed to be boys, they shouldn’t be allowed to keep girls from being girls.
I agree with Xan.
On both comments.
I’d spank Donna, but just on principle.
As an example, in third grade my daughter was suspended for three days for throwing a fart bomb.
A kid after my own heart!