Posted on 10/23/2007 2:31:25 PM PDT by uxbridge
The report of a Weare father attacking his daughter's boyfriend on school grounds after discovering the teenagers had sex earlier that day has evoked passion in readers.
The boy is 17 and the girl is 15.
Police say the attack happened Sept. 10 as John Stark High School in Henniker was letting out for the day and was witnessed many students.
The girl's father was charged with simple assault, a class B felony.
A Weare police detective was interviewing the 17-year-old from Henniker yesterday, said Deputy Chief Bill Quigley, but no charges have been filed against him.
Because the girl is not old enough to consent under state law, police are investigating the father's allegation as a sexual assault.
The story drew comments from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to Baghdad, Iraq.
Many people defended the irate father's actions, with one reader suggesting a defense fund be set up and several others saying they would contribute.
"If more parents acted like this father maybe we wouldn't have so many teen pregnancies," wrote Dorie Smith of New Boston. "It's refreshing to see a father stand up for his child and not just say, 'Oh, that's what teenagers do.'"
Others said the man should be prosecuted for violently taking the law into his own hands.
"I am also shocked at the number of people defending the father's actions," wrote Tina Thompson of Sutton. "The father's actions are vigilantism at its worst, and I hope the authorities throw the book at him."
Michelle Howard, of Henniker, said an adult should be expected to have more control over his fist than a teenager has over his hormones.
"As a mother of three boys," she wrote, "I will make sure they get every kiss and so on in writing, to protect us from some testosterone-raging father."
The boy, who police say was dating the girl, was bruised in the attack and required two stitches in his face.
Police said the father discovered the teens had sex during school hours but not on school property.
The New Hampshire Union Leader does not identify sexual assault victims. For that reason, the newspaper is not identifying the father.
Chris, of Nashua, said there's little danger of stigma being attached to anyone involved in the incident.
"The 15-year old girl is not a victim here," he said. "She is a teen engaging in sexual activity - just like 90 percent of her peers. Therefore the father does not deserve to have his name hidden from the public. Publish his name in the paper just like any other adult who is charged with assault."
Meg, of Derry, agreed, saying many teen girls are sexually active.
"People see the word 'rape' in statutory rape and think that the boy forced himself on her like a beast," she wrote. "Let me tell you, that is hardly the case in many instances. ... Assault is assault, Pops. Jail is where you go, and you learn YOUR lesson just like your daughter and her boyfriend learn theirs."
Sue, of Pembroke, said lessons could have been learned, but weren't.
"This would have been the perfect opportunity (for the man) to show his daughter how adults behave themselves when faced with a difficult situation," she wrote. "When she is an adult she will look back and realize the infantile manner in which her father behaved himself."
Tonya Ferrara, of Manchester, said vigilante justice - family style - might play a useful role in crime fighting.
"Maybe if this happened to sex offenders the first time they were caught we wouldn't have repeat offenders," she wrote.
Using violence to solve problems is the real threat to society, wrote Christina, of Henniker.
"Let the father of the boy beat up the father of the girl, and then the older brother beat up the older brother," she wrote. "Why stop there? Why not have his friends beat up her friends? It's views like this that start world wars."
Mark Emerson, of Lancaster, said the man's chief mistake was getting caught.
"Put in that same situation," he said, "I probably would have knocked his lights out also, just without all the witnesses."
Tom Linehan, of Salem, defended the father's actions without qualification.
"There ought to be a fund to help pay the legal fees for people like this father who not only defend their kids but also more broadly defend the rest of us from miscreants," wrote Linehan. "There is no defense for rape."
As a mother of three boys myself, after the girl’s dad got done with my son, my husband and I would have a crack at him ourselves.
15yo is freshman year High School. 17yo is junior year. All the hottest freshman girls at my high school dated older guys. They would have had to lock up half the varsity squad. Don’t blame this guy for kicking ass though. Play the game so they say, watch out for angry Dads.
I disagree as well. If this POS had attacked my son he’d have a bigger problem on his hands. As it is I have girls and I can assure you if this happens to me I’ll be discussing it with my girls, not the other party. The family appears to have a number of problems.
Personally, any father that DOESN’T get mad when his daughter puts out is a liberal idiot.
Fact: Boys can’t get pregnant. Daughters can. Guess where the baby will live if a 15 year old girl gets pregnant? Yup, with the Girl’s parents. I chased as much tail as any boy, but I always knew that if I got caught, her Dad was going to beat my ass. I thought that was old fashioned and repressed back then too.
Funny how now that I’m a parent, I can see Dad’s point much more easily...
I am sure you mean well but those ulgy terms you are using are so gross and make one want to pop you!
Its like the old saying “Children should be seen and not heard.”
It is non productive for one should be encourage why it is not the best choice and shown how to develope a appreciation for a more noble way of life!
Junior high school is 6th through 9th. 6 years old+6 grades=12 6 years old+9 grades=15
And as for my dad, Yup you sure would have found him violent if you touched me. Kept me and all my boyfriends from engaging in pre-marital sex.
Amazing it’s it?
This is one of the previous threads.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1903658/posts
135 replies.
And I think there was even an earlier thread - I’m looking for it - with even more hot button replies.
And as far as this thread??? On its way to over a 100 replies, I’m sure....
>>As a mother of three boys myself, after the girl’s dad got done with my son, my husband and I would have a crack at him ourselves.<<
Thank you.
...not in NYC. They may be doin' the nasty, but they can't drive in the five boroughs.
In my state, 15 is middle school.
Let’s say 15 in NH, (that means that these girls started K at four years old but okay) the boys need to learn the law.
You play, you pay. Even if that’s in the form of an angry dad.
I love that, BTW.
Are you saying that a girl “keeping her legs together” and a boy keeping his “zipper in the up position” are ugly terms?
I think you’re doing great.
Well, I would have to say that she may well have been in High School if those are the grades.
She still needed a good smack upside the head as well.
I'm bothered that anybody who uses the word "shocked" to embellish their opinion is taken seriously.
That's the way we were raised. You hoped like heck the authorities never told Mom or Dad you broke any laws..... The punishment at home was far worse.
The only law I broke at 15 was to take my grandmother's car out for a 30 minute joy ride. (I was too chicken to go anywhere except to the local Jack in the Box and back for tacos) At that age...I still believed french-kissing caused babies. *chuckle*
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