Month old story gains momentum. Disabled 16 year old girls sexual assault will not go unanswered.

The Blue State Conservatives ^ | 04/14/05 | Brian Scott

[Brian Scott]

This past March in Columbus Ohio a disabled 16 year old girl was sexually assulted at  Mifflin High School by a group of boys.  They beat her, stripped her naked, and video taped the incident while others watched as it happened.  This occurred while school was in session in the school's auditorium.  When the girl was finally brought to safety, a school official named Richard Watson did not want to call the authorities because it would attract unwanted media attention.  The father of the disabled girl was not called until a considerable amount of time had passed after the incident was reported.  The principle (Ms Crenshaw) has been fired for suggesting the father not call the police, yet assistant principle Richard Watson has not been fired only suspended for the same offense.  As of today there have been no charges made against any of the students who did this crime. 

Wheres the media attention to this story?  This should be national news until it's resolved.

• (h/t Glenn Beck for bringing this story to the forefront)

Heres what I've found so far on the story:

Mifflin Highschools Homepage
Mifflin High Staff - Try as you may you will not find e-mail addresses or phone numbers in their staff DIRECTORY.
Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Gene T. Harris

The New York Times - Information on Richard Watson and his roll.  He has not yet been fired.
Local Channel 6 story
Channel 10 coverage
The Columbus Dispatch (pdf)
Las Vegas Sun - This story reports that an assistant principle failed to call.  That assistant principle is Richard Watson.

If your feeling in a "I wish I could do something" mood.  Why not give the school a call and ask a few questions.  But please don't call until you've read up on it and did your homework.  Above I've listed no less than 5 sources.  Read at least 4 out of 5 before making your call.

Heres the Contact Information below  (Columbus Ohio Public Schools Directory - pdf) (wasn't easy to find)

MIFFLIN HIGH
3425 Oak Spring St., 43219
Phone: (614) 365-5466
Fax: (614) 365-6628

Please be polite during your calls.

[updated: 4/14/2005 12:37:45 PM]: In a lame attempt by school officials to cover their own as***s the NY Times reports that after viewing the video tape, Richard Watson and other administrators determined that their was no coercion.

"One of the three assistant principals, Richard Watson, said he had found the videotape and then viewed it with other administrators. Their conclusion, they told investigators, was that there had been no coercion."

It's possible the coercion was not caught on tape, but school officials would have to ignore eyewitness testimony to the event to excuse their inept response.

"One witness's statement said a boy pulled the girl onto the auditorium stage, ordered her to be quiet, pushed her to her knees and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

"If you scream, I'll have all my boys punch you," the boy told her and then hit her in the face, causing her mouth to bleed, a student told the investigators."

[AQGeiger]

Just a note, Ms. Crenshaw is a principal and not a principle. She's not a very principled prinicpal, BTW.

[NativeNewYorker]

http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us/mifflin_high/1MISSION/mis.html

Skool home page.

[Meldrim]

Interesting. Odd the LeperCon has not picked up on this. It would be right up Fox's alley.

[MortMan]

I've never met a prinicpal.

Heck, I've never met a prinic! ;-P

[AQGeiger]

Whoops. That's what I get for FReeping while in lecture and forgoing my proofreading. I'll commence self-flagellation now.

[SilentServiceCPOWife]

"One of the three assistant principals, Richard Watson, said he had found the videotape and then viewed it with other administrators. Their conclusion, they told investigators, was that there had been no coercion."

If there was no coercion, how do they explain the fact that she was punched in the mouth?

[MortMan]

Hey - You're a conservative, right? We don't self-flagellate. We hire someone to do it right!!! ;-P

[Cecily]

"One witness's statement said a boy pulled the girl onto the auditorium stage, ordered her to be quiet, pushed her to her knees and forced her to perform oral sex on him."


Too bad this girl didn't give the creep a bite he would never forget, i.e., a Lorena Bobbitt special. It would have been a great object lesson to other would-be playas and gangstas.

[tophat9000]

Hey We just found out its not murder if you can't say no so how can you sexually assault a girl if they can't say no...I mean who would want to live like that, with no sex, of course she wanted it ...

[Restorer]

If there was no coercion, how do they explain the fact that she was punched in the mouth?

At the moment, it's an assertion, not a fact.

Some people enjoy and participate in getting punched in the mouth. Who are we to inflict our judgmental values on those who enjoy B&D or S&M?

[keepingtrack]

One of the three assistant principals, Richard Watson, said he had found the videotape and then viewed it with other administrators. Their conclusion, they told investigators, was that there had been no coercion.

Well...I'd say that a developmentally disabled 16 year old girl is incapable of giving consent, hence any sexual activity is going to be de facto coercion.

[King Prout]

one note: Principal
I'm not nitpicking a triviality: it really is important to spell correctly when trying to make a national noise.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I don't know, as a parent of an autistic child, if I would call the police, either. I'd be too tempted to administer justice myself.

Some things didn't make sense to me:

"It was shown in the math class," says her father.

What?!!!? The videotape of a sexual assault is shown in a math class? How does that happen? And what about the dozen reprobate witnesses who watched it happen in the auditorium and didn't stop the attackers? They are cowards who deserve to be expelled. What of the math class porno-watchers? How many of them reported the crimes they watched? If not, they, too, are culpable to some degree. You can't sit idly by and allow evil to go unchecked.

however there is no indication that they have been arrested at this time.

Assault and battery, sexual assault, perhaps attempted rape, imprisonment...Why the h*** aren't these CRIMINALS in jail? Again, that's why I'm not sure I would go through the bureaucrat channel.

[Sunshine Sister]

Seems to me it should have been the principal who called the police!

[ken21]

lars larson last night was talking about another rape:

a girl in oregon went to a party. an adult gave all the high school kids alcohol.

some of the girls undressed this one girl, used markers to write all over her body and genitals, and inserted drum sticks into her vagina.

the female judge said, to one of the defendants: ok, you're a girl, so you get it easy, one night in jail.

[jtminton]

I have to say that if I was the father, chances are I would have left that school in the back of a squad car after I heard my daughter was raped and the admin did nothing about it.