Judge dismisses sexual harassment charges against 2 Ore. teens

KGW.com ^ | 8-20-07 | WILLIAM McCALL

[rednesss]

Judge dismisses sexual harassment charges against 2 Ore. teens

08/20/2007

By WILLIAM McCALL / Associated Press

Two 13-year-old boys accused of slapping girls' bottoms and poking or cupping girls' breasts at school apologized on Monday as a judge dismissed charges against the two, ending a six-month case that drew national attention.

The charges triggered a debate over whether such behavior in school should be considered criminal.

Four girls listed as victims by the prosecutors had asked the judge to drop the charges against Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison.

Yamhill County Judge John Collins did so on Monday, saying it was in the "interest of justice."

A number of young girls were in the courtroom during the hearing. They included at least some of the four who asked that the charges be dropped, attorneys said.

During the brief hearing, the two boys faced the girls and apologized.

"I never intended to hurt you in any way," Mashburn said.

Cornelison told the girls: "I hope we can still be friends."

The News-Register newspaper of McMinnville reported that a "civil compromise" reached by prosecutors and the defense called for both boys to apologize, to pay each of the four girls $250 and to complete a "boundaries education" program.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they could not comment on the newspaper report or release details of the settlement because they are confidential.

Pressure has been building on prosecutors to drop the charges, with critics saying they had blown the matter out of proportion and were overzealous.

The boys, apparently inspired by the movie "Jackass," were accused in police reports of swatting girls on the bottom in a school corridor, grabbing girls' breasts on at least two occasions, teaming up to "dry hump" girls, poking girls' breasts and engaging in what's known as "party boy" dancing mimicking sexual intercourse.

They were originally charged with felony sex abuse, misdemeanor sex abuse and sexual harassment in February. Amid growing public opposition to sending the boys to prison and putting them on a sex offenders' registry, prosecutors first dropped the felony sex abuse charges and later the misdemeanor sex abuse charges, leaving the sexual harassment counts.

The judge dismissed the final charges following negotiations between prosecutors and the defense, and discussions with the four girls about whether they wanted the case dismissed.

[lady lawyer]

Not gender bias. If some 13 girl was caught repeatedly grabbing an unconsenting boy’s crotch, I think it would be a pretty good indicator of her general morality and lack of respect for others, and it would be a pretty safe bet that she wouldn’t end up being a nun.

You can, after all, judge people by their actions, male or female.

[Valpal1]

In this partial transcript from Juvenile Court, two alleged victims say they were not feel threatened by Cory Mashburn or Ryan Cornelison and felt pressured to make untrue statements during interrogation.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2007/07/documents_in_yamhill_county_sp.html

[rednesss]

“Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.” - Frank Herbert.

[SoftballMominVA]

They were imitating the movie Jackass - which is an R rating. What brainiac of a parent allowed 10/11 year olds to watch an R rated movie?

We wonder why the country is going to hell in a hand basket? It's partly because parents refuse to say NO and set appropriate boundaries for their children.

[rednesss]

And another of my favorite Dune quotes:

" Give me the judgment of balanced minds in preference to laws every time. Codes and manuals create patterned behavior. All patterned behavior tends to go unquestioned, gathering destructive momentum." - Frank Herbert.

[Valpal1]

I read the arresting report and that is the officer’s words, NOT what the children said.

I think the officer in charge blew this thing out of proportion and possibly had an issue with one of the boys from a previous encounter at a school dance.

He made it sound like what they called “party boy” was dry humping and implied that it involved physical contact when the kids described it as specifically not.

Makes you wonder?

[bvw]

What of a female who shows off her sexuality so boldly it is non-ignorable? Can she join these boys in jail?

[rednesss]

A police report of a Sunday blue-haired lady potluck dinner would sound like a raging kegger if it suited the purpose of the cop. Don’t think for a second that they don’t “pad” incident reports.

[bluetone006]

Jail time - naw. 5 strokes with a cane each. You bet.

[Valpal1]

I think that is exactly what happened here.

Read the police reports, it is the officer who watches Jackass and compared the boys behavior to it. It did not come from the kids.

[rednesss]

Except the boys weren’t accused of grabbing “crotches” they were accused of swatting behinds. Nice try there to switch the behavior, disingenuous much??? Shakespeare was a visionary.

[lady lawyer]

My analogy was between grabbing breasts, which the boys were accused of doing, and grabbing crotches. I thought that was obvious.

[rednesss]

One is a sexual organ, one is not.

[lady lawyer]

a distinction without a difference

[rednesss]

Men have nipples too. Also I don’t think the allegation was “grabbing” but “poking”.

[rednesss]

“What makes a female’s breast anymore protected than a male’s.”

"You’re kidding, right? The same thing that makes it illegal in most places for women, only, to go topless."

And what is that exactly??? Cause they have a different opinion about it in the south of France????????

[Coleus]

Just saw this on 20/20 last Friday, it's the first I heard of it.    You just can't be a kid anymore.  The schools and their zero-tolerance and sexual harassment policies are crazy.

 

Mashburn

Here's a pic. of the dangerous sex offenders.  Two middle-schoolers in Oregon were charged with felony sex abuse in the first degree after running through the halls at school, swatting the bottoms of girls. Fridays are unofficially "Slap Butt Day" at their school. 

 

Freep the school principals

 

http://www.msd.k12.or.us/schools/patton/

jtorgerson@msd.k12.or.us

 

 

Here is another one about a 4-year-old boy, Chris Blackwell, giving his teacher a hug.  The teacher reported him for Sexual Harassment.

 

http://www.lavegaisd.org/lvpc/lvpc.htm

elicia.krumnow@lavegaisd.org

 

[SuziQ]

The boys, apparently inspired by the movie "Jackass," were accused in police reports of swatting girls on the bottom in a school corridor, grabbing girls' breasts on at least two occasions, teaming up to "dry hump" girls, poking girls' breasts and engaging in what's known as "party boy" dancing mimicking sexual intercourse.

What I want to ask is why do these boys still have their teeth? The girls should have smacked them right in the mouth.

[HungarianGypsy]

was treated like this by a boy in high school. I wouldn’t have wanted him arrested but boy if I had it to do over, I’d kick him as hard as I could. Between his legs.

Maybe it was the same guy. I would always be about to smack him, but he was too fast.

[Coleus]

What I want to ask is why do these boys still have their teeth? The girls should have smacked them right in the mouth. >>

And in the old days, that’s how some girls kept the boys in order. the boys and girls in the school did the butt slapping to each other. I remember back in the day that the first of may is petticoat day, some things never change.