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'Three Stooges' Action Lands Boy in Court
Yahoo News & Mail Tribune ^ | August 8, 2005

Posted on 08/07/2005 9:58:33 PM PDT by lunarbicep

'Three Stooges' Action Lands Boy in Court

A 15-year-old boy who pinched and twisted the nipples of a 13-year-old has been sentenced to three days of community service for harassment.

David Thumler, 15, said the "titty-twister" was just horseplay. The mother of 13-year-old Matthew Cox counters that the incident was humiliating for her son, who saw it as an assault from an older, bigger bully.

"They're not friends," she said. "If he was my son's friend, it would be a different thing," said Bobby Cox.

In addition to the community service, Thumler has been ordered to pay a $67 fine and the misdemeanor has been placed on his permanent record. He can request to have it removed when he turns 18.

Ken Chapman, a Jackson County juvenile probation supervisor, said Oregon law defines physical harassment as "offensive physical touching."

That includes such adolescent antics as "wet-willies," "wedgies," "swirlies," "noogies" and all other forms of "Three Stooges" behavior, Chapman said.

According to David, the two boys were in line at a local deli when Matthew jokingly made an embarrassing remark to the female clerk about David. In retaliation, David counterattacked with the "titty-twister," the 15-year-old said.

"It's a thing of camaraderie," David said. "If he's going to assume our friendship is on that level, then so am I."

A lawyer hired by the 15-year-old's family called the juvenile court's actions "Orwellian."

"They call this 'baby assault,'" said Michael Kellington, a criminal defense attorney in Medford, hired by the family.

Even Bobby Cox said she was surprised to hear that her husbands' call to Gold Hill police resulted in court time for the boy. "Nobody informed me it would be a full-blown trial," she said.

According to Kellington, the incident was blown out of proportion in part because David's mother refused to let him show up for an initial hearing in juvenile court. Christine Alford, David's mother, said she did not let her son attend the hearing because she had seen photos of teenagers in handcuffs on the county's Web site.

Kellington said that Alford's refusal to let David go upped the ante and brought down "unfair, Draconian measures" upon her son. What should have been a discussion between first-time-offender and a representative of the juvenile justice system became a court trial.

"The mom is understandably fearful," said Kellington. "You shouldn't retaliate for the decision of a parent upon the child."

Chapman, the juvenile probation supervisor, said the mother should have known better.

"'Hearing' doesn't mean 'taking into custody,'" he said. "When we take someone into custody, we don't make appointments. If there's a consequence for not coming in informally, well, that's one they chose."

 


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: nyuknyuknyuk; stooges; threestooges
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To: knuthom

David openly admitted that he did this. He never learned it at home. Also testifying was another boy Dalton Bradley who rides motocross and he testified that Matt Cox gave him titty twisters all the time. SO is it always harassment or is it sometimes funny? I think it is in bad taste, have never thougth of doing or seen anyone else do it. However I hve located three teachers, 2 in District 6 and one in Eagle Point School District that have been dong it to the kids, themselves. So if it is the new "pinch on the butt" that one day was so cute and the next day was costing people millions of dollars in lawsuits, everyone should be grateful that this went public. PS Does your kid kick your neighbors kids in the balls? This kid does, and does your kid give out titty twisters? This kid does.


81 posted on 08/11/2005 7:21:50 PM PDT by Christine Alford (Christine Alford)
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To: NCLaw441
of course the devil is always in the details. When the Cox's went to the police they accused another boy, Jeff G of giving their son a titty twister. David's name never appeared in their record, even after David told the police that he did it, the COx family insisted that Jeff G did it. In fact they were filing a false report on a boy that they hated because he smokes dope with their daughter. It had absolutely nothing to do with David. He was just caught in the middle. What he saw was a kid that we knew, we sold him his first moto cross bike, David played ping pong with him at Youth Group and generally considered him an acquaintance that he was on a first name basis with; when the kid said "yo mama" David just saw a younger kid that was trying to in with the big guys and treated him the way they treat each other. Why the boy thought he could go to the police and tell them that an entirely different boy, Jeff G had done it, I can't imagine. But from that point on the family had to continue to claim injury or be shown as lying witnesses against this other boy, whom they have filed dozens of eventually unfounded complaints against. If you don't' understand that, I will be happy to send you the police report. The boy then lied and claimed that David was a complete stranger, and we just found the notes on the probation officers papers where Paul Cox told them that I was "stoned and always stick up for my son, they continue to threaten and harass". I haven't been stoned in 35 years and we have had zero contact with them since that incident. Have you ever read the dichotomy of the Salem Witch Trials? Have you ever seen a child lie? on a witness stand? without blinking an eye? it is a rather stunning performance.
82 posted on 08/11/2005 7:35:12 PM PDT by Christine Alford (Christine Alford)
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To: ApplegateRanch

No, it is not right to admit that your intentions were malicious when they were not. It is not right to bear false witness against yourself in order to avoid consequences.
If you were laughing and some food flew out of your mouth and another person called the police and said you spit in their face maliciously, would you concede to that? The accusation that David MALICIOUSLY touched that boy, is an extrememly serious charge to us, and to him. That fact has been overshadowed by the sensational "titty twisting", aspect. That is why he was so adamant, that the intention was never malicious. And he apologized to the boy at the bike track months ago.


83 posted on 08/11/2005 7:42:07 PM PDT by Christine Alford (Christine Alford)
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To: festus
If they arrested all of us and charged us with assault as kids who pulled three stoges moves on each other, well, we would have been an entire generation of crimminals.

LOL - You got that right ...nyuckk, nyuck, nyuck ...

84 posted on 08/11/2005 7:45:42 PM PDT by 11th_VA (http://www.worldmag.com/displayarticle.cfm?id=10481)
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To: texson66
I hate to tell you this but the Judge found him guilty because she thought she could read that David's INTENT was malicious because he told her that when the boy said "yo mama' he replied "hey Matt, and gave him the twist". The judge decided that David had taken the "yo mama" comment seriously and retaliated. David said it was closer to two black men greeting each other "Hey Nigger" and the other replies "Hey Nigger" and then the first one goes home and tell the police that someone called him a nigger. I know that touching and words and not the same, although offensive words and offensive touching are treated the same in the statute, but that is a close analogy. I think we have had ample testimony from the public that this phenomena called "titty twisting" goes on amongst friends as a sign of camaraderie. That appears to be the general understanding.
85 posted on 08/11/2005 7:50:11 PM PDT by Christine Alford (Christine Alford)
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To: Christine Alford

You have answered my post. Thanks!


86 posted on 08/11/2005 8:32:39 PM PDT by Treader (Hillary's dark smile is reminiscent of Stalin's inhuman grin...)
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To: McBuff
Unlike the double-finger eye poke, which can be neutralized by the counter-move of placing the hand vertically flush with the nose and perpendicular with the face, the titty-twister has no known countermove...

That should be single hand double-finger eye poke.

As you are probably aware, the counter-counter move to the perpendicular hand defense counter-move, is of course, the two-handed single-fingered eye poke.

87 posted on 09/24/2005 7:08:07 AM PDT by Darth Republican
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To: Experiment 6-2-6
You know, JOKINGLY is usually found at the start of MOST law school questions in TORT...

That is true.

It is followed closely by "we'd been drinking when..."

Coming in third is plain, basic stupidity.

88 posted on 09/24/2005 7:12:39 AM PDT by Darth Republican
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To: Christine Alford
I was curious as to what the "intake" was going to be and how it was turned into an initial appearance in juvenile court.

I've never done much in juvenile law, but I'm amazed that it was escalated to this point..

89 posted on 09/24/2005 11:39:52 AM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Looking out my window, I see the surf is up. Hmm. Free Republic vs. Tasty Surf.. Tough decision..)
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