13-year-old girl arrested for alleged school bus assaults

By Andrew Wellner
Frontiersman
Published on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 2:06 PM AKST

PALMER –—A 13-year-old Sutton girl is being held in the Mat-Su Youth Facility after two boys said she sexually assaulted them on a school bus.

The boys, also 13, of Sutton, said the girl touched them over their clothing, Palmer Police Det. Kelly Turney said. Police went to Palmer Junior Middle School Jan. 9 to investigate and ended up arresting the girl.

Turney said little information could be released about the incident since all the involved parties are juveniles and that a press release discussing the case was necessarily brief and vague.

“All people see is what we can release, but I can tell you it’s not that simple,” Turney said.

He said officers weighed the facts of the case and decided that two charges of second-degree harassment and one each of second-degree sexual assault and attempted second-degree sexual assault were appropriate.

“You balance the public safety, the safety of the victims and then you take a look at those and you balance those with what’s going to be the best decision to be made to reach those goals,” Turney said.

Officer discretion allows for a range of options, he said, from issuing a verbal warning and releasing the suspect to his or her parents on one end to putting the suspect in jail on the other.

Turney said that while he could not discuss the specifics of the evidence collected, in this case the facts justified incarcerating the girl.

“In general, if you have an instance where a behavior is occurring and another person, whether it be an adult or a juvenile, and that behavior is asked to cease and that behavior continues ... you have to follow through on that,” Turney said.

The detective has heard a little of what the community has been saying publicly about the arrest and some folks seem upset officers arrested a 13-year-old girl. But police, he said, are gender-blind.

“Reverse the genders and if a boy, generally speaking, if a boy touches a girl inappropriately on the school bus and the school district and the police don’t take action, can you imagine the outcry there would be?” Turney said.

Turney said Wednesday that no bail amount has been set for the girl.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.

Comments

379 comment(s)

    cindy wrote on Jan 2, 2010 3:04 PM:

    " Yes, she is only thirteen, however, she DOES KNOW right from wrong.
    My 12yr old was severely BEATEN by a thirteen year old girl, and YES I am Getting as much power as I can to get her Charged. She does drugs, drinks, expelled from other schools for beating up other kids, and even brags about it to the younger kids.

    So, I feel if there is STRONG evidence, and if this is not her first issue, then she definitely belongs in an enviornment that she is consitantly confined. "

    Sian wrote on May 24, 2009 11:49 AM:

    " This is just ridiculous!!!
    She is 13 for goodness sake!!
    I know that she made a mistake, but for her to go to Prison is just stupid!!

    The Police should focus on real phyco`s!!
    not a silly 13 year old!
    And what about Knife Crime??!!
    They dont seem to bother about theft either!!
    Real sick people are RAPING young girls and the police are doing NOTHING!

    This is just ridicolus!!!
    The police should focus on more serious crimes!! "

    jalisa wrote on Oct 16, 2008 3:33 PM:

    " i think they are crazy "

    Why cant it be the s wrote on Aug 14, 2008 8:13 PM:

    " I am also 13 and am wondering why it is that kids are growing up so fast these days. Look at 13 year olds from '96. Perfectly innocent. Now weve got this stuff happening. This girl ought to be straightened out. "

    Joanna wrote on Jul 1, 2008 5:52 PM:

    " These type of laws were brought in largely because of the ill considered idealogical lobbying of feminist organizations like NOW and other feminist legal lobby groups. I agree there are much better ways of dealing with this and a young life does not need to be ruined because of it. Neither girls nor BOYS should have the laws treat them in this way. The laws need to need to be changed to distinguish sinister sexual molestation from simple inappropriate adolescent sexual behavior. "

    Lauren wrote on Jun 24, 2008 1:34 PM:

    " I think that just because she is 13 that she shouldn't go to jail is total BS!!!! I think that the police should take her to jail because touchong somebody where they don't want to be touched is wrong. They need to check up on her parents about what happened to because I know that if I were her mom I would send her to jail PEROID!!! "

    boy wrote on May 13, 2008 10:42 AM:

    " police should be gender blind -
    if the situation were reversed, there would be action taken.lose our collective mind if a boy does it, why should this be any different? "

    another 13yr old girl wrote on Mar 30, 2008 1:12 PM:

    " I'M AGREEING WITH THOSE WHO STATE THIS GIRL SHOULD BE INCARCERATED.
    i'm also a 13 year old girl! i can't IMAGINE doing that EVER even though i've had 2 boyfriends
    but i'm one of those lucky to have grown up in a good household.
    the girls i know (and some that i'm friends with) would like doing things like that.
    my 'things like that', i mean sexually assult boys.
    i don't think she's innocent. 13 years old (like me) is mature enough to make choices and to fully understand what is being done, along with being able to take responsibility. "

    UNKNOWN wrote on Mar 17, 2008 3:13 AM:

    " PLEASE a 13 yr old common thats just wrong locking her up! Shes not an adult yet shes still a child...let it slide thats all wasting time! "

    Annoyed wrote on Mar 3, 2008 4:41 PM:

    " This is bull. If a boy touched girls like that, they'd be locked in irons, and all the parents would be raving mad. Gender doesn't matter in these cases, girl touching guy, guy touching girl, either way, WAY to young. 13 is not the age for sexual fantasies and knowledge to be appearing. My children have been tought about sec organs in 5th grade, it was a class. i believe it's not the kids to blame, but the schools for teaching these things at this age "

    asdfoikp;l['; wrote on Feb 18, 2008 11:25 AM:

    " OMG "

    stacy wrote on Feb 11, 2008 8:55 AM:

    " i think it is stupid to place a 13 year old girl in a facility and charge her with sexual assult, its stupid and people need to grow up! shes young and so are the boys but it is stupid to lock her up. "

    Think About It wrote on Jan 30, 2008 12:19 PM:

    " To me it's not so much you can't trust the police department about the written comments or any mentioned in the article. You may perhaps need to question who wrote the article being Andrew Weller of the Frontiersman. These people will twist and turn, add and leave out information just to get the attention this article has received. It's their job. Believe me, I have read articles in this newspaper for many, many years. More than half of the articles, the information is nothing but trash. They want their jobs and that is to sell their newspaper. "

    To the Students wrote on Jan 27, 2008 12:49 PM:

    " If the last several posts are any indication of the quality of local education, our schools need to pay closer attention to teaching our students better basics in the English language. My gracious golly...what illiteracy! Plea to morons: please don't post in here without proofreading first. Some of the comments are actually unreadable.

    To aksoldier: We do indeed have an idea what happened. It's in the very article we're commenting upon! "

    Wow wrote on Jan 26, 2008 8:03 AM:

    " What she did was harmless flirting. The world is going to run out of humans if we get arrested for touching each other "

    MaRzKid wrote on Jan 25, 2008 7:36 PM:

    " Ok people, she was my friend in the 6th grade untill she flaked out. But she probebly had some rough times. this how ever not a quesion, and you dont have to contact me. So dont even think about it. you are so anal, she is stll a child, but doesnt make it ok, she needs help. "

    bj wrote on Jan 25, 2008 6:51 PM:

    " they are just kids and that should not have happend but we are all human "

    sik girl wrote on Jan 24, 2008 3:44 PM:

    " she is 13 ok she can stil get arrested for doing that i hope she learned a damn lesson "

    that is so not cool wrote on Jan 24, 2008 3:28 PM:

    " you can sooo tel that she canme from a obusive family "

    sailergirl wrote on Jan 23, 2008 5:28 PM:

    " I don't know about other places, but here in Florida the police can make up whatever story they want and the courts believe them no matter what the evidence is. Cops here will write up a big report that doesn't match the facts from the video tape at all. Who pays them anyways? If our taxes pay their salary, why do we put up with being treated this way?
    "

    I know the girl too wrote on Jan 23, 2008 4:17 PM:

    " what they did was done after many other attepmts to get her to stop this activity. This was not the first time. Why are you all so ignorant to the issue. There are more details that none of you know. So you should all drop this issue and hope she gets help!
    "

    a friend wrote on Jan 22, 2008 5:44 PM:

    " I know the girl
    she is my friend
    I think they should not have dont that
    they did not look at the whole picture
    they also acted to fast
    what is happening to her is not rtight "

    pleeeaaasssee!!!!!!!!!!!!! wrote on Jan 22, 2008 12:03 AM:

    " blah blah blah blah blah,and blah blah blah blah. So you get mad at the cops but somebody called them. The law is the law. PPD does thier job and people whine about that. If the cops turn thier backs and later this kid does who knows what, then you would want to sue the police. Blah blah blah blah. "

    Trent wrote on Jan 21, 2008 6:51 PM:

    " I don't cares how old the girl is. Once the boys told her to stop, she should have. Little information is given, but I'm sure if the police felt they had to arrest her and place such severe charges against her, she must have done much more than the investigators are allowed to say considering that all three involved are minors. These boys are heroes because very few guys would have the courage to say no. These boys don't have to use sex to prove their masculinity. They are true men. "

    KG wrote on Jan 21, 2008 5:09 PM:

    " I don't know the facts. I wasn't there, neither were the parents, neither were the police. So why are they so involved. I think if we don't give the credit of a 13 year old being able to consent, how can we legally hold them consenting for their own illegal actions? Paradox? The point is, we go over the laws we've made with a fine tooth comb when the laws themselves prove to collide with each other. "

    Go Figure wrote on Jan 21, 2008 11:51 AM:

    " Just think, in our sick twisted world of insane liberalism, if a boy got arrested for unwanted advances against another boy, an army of ACLU Jewish lawyers would sue the school, police, and city for homophobia and civil rights violations! "

    As a parent wrote on Jan 21, 2008 8:31 AM:

    " I think this is a little over the top. For one, this should be a private matter, and this should have not made it to any paper. As a parent I would be devastated if my child had clothing removed and than the contact would be a little different. I just do not think this young girl meant any harm buy her actions. I think if the girl was more the boys type, you might have seen more participation. This matter could have been addressed just among the parents and the school district. "

    SET wrote on Jan 21, 2008 1:55 AM:

    " Stupid waste of time and money.
    Stupid waste of time and money.
    Oh, did I mention? It is a stupid waste of time and money! "

    Heather wrote on Jan 20, 2008 11:04 PM:

    " HELLO AMERICA!! Our children are in trouble. Drugs, alcohol,violence,no parent supervision....
    We can be from all walks of life but when they step out that door its over.Our schools and society are infested with corruption.
    We force our children to be adults today. And we wonder why they act this way.
    Has anyone checked out the number of homeless teens today?,Its staggering.And there is no shelter for them to go to. (in mat-su)So they wind up stealing ,etc to survive
    We need to make a safeplace for our homeless children. "

    DDA in CA wrote on Jan 20, 2008 6:07 PM:

    " If this would have happened in the 50's when I grew up I'd probably still be in prison instead of being a prosecutor. Our drum majorette was very PG at graduation and most of the kids were fooling around to some extent. And this was before the pill, movies rated higher than G, the 60's so called sexual revolution etc. It just wasn't very well publicized then and was handled fairly successfully without legal intervention. "

    alaskagirl wrote on Jan 20, 2008 4:22 PM:

    " you guys have no idea what really happened, one of the kid who got touched is my friend, he was very not interested in this girl and told her to stop. but she grabbed him. arresting is a littleee intense, but suspension or anything else would be fine. and dont investigate her house!! she CAN come up with this on her own.
    trust me, im 13 too.
    peeeace "

    john h wrote on Jan 20, 2008 12:26 PM:

    " ak soldier i hope you werent talking to me i grew up in palmer stuff like this happened all the time there much worse stuff and most the time it was never reported. out of all the places ive lived palmer seemed to be the worst for kids i was there last summer walking around one day and saw kids that looked 14 were getting drunk in the woods right in town by the park and at carrs its terrible. where do they learn these things i wonder? actually i dont its complete lack of parenting "

    TTOSBT wrote on Jan 20, 2008 8:53 AM:

    " This incident has certainly pushed all kinds of buttons. I commend the PPD for doing their work in a professional manner. The PPD must maintain confidentiality in this type of case even if some demand details be public. This case involves at least 3 minors. If this was an escalation of other events maybe more. Everyone should cool it. These children, all of them (including the girl charged)deserve to be heard. I think there will be a lot more to all this than is now apparent. "

    ak soldier wrote on Jan 20, 2008 8:51 AM:

    " you are all judging something you have no idea what happened. have any of you thought about what if it was your kid it happened too??? you would be very upset with it and saying its the governments fault for what had happened you all have voices tell the school district what you want changed instead of skipping out on parent teacher meetings and watching football or whatever it is you do that is way more important... like i said you have a voice try using it where it counts instead of online.. do you know where your kids are?? "

    john h wrote on Jan 20, 2008 6:27 AM:

    " palmer is a bad place for kids to many drugs to many drunks no wonder stuff like this happens "

    NBS, Female Liberal wrote on Jan 19, 2008 11:23 PM:

    " In consideration of a few facts, I'm willing to believe that this case is being handled in the manner best suited for all involved.
    The vague manner in which the story is written, tells me the authorities are looking out for the minor's privacy. Kudos.
    The charges filed, that may've well been minimized due to the girl's age, leads me to believe that this is not a cut and dry case of one time unwanted touching.
    This may not be the first incident, just the first reported, in which case, to help the girl, justice might be best severe. "

    ok wrote on Jan 19, 2008 9:13 PM:

    " this article is somewhat vague on some things because all children are under 18 so I figure it had to be serious. People always sit there and blame the parents but in most cases both parents have to work they can't always be supervised 24/7.
    "

    Tony in Ohio wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:26 PM:

    " It's time to get cops and judges out of schools except for serious crimes. Regardless of gender, and I am VERY sensitive to femi-nazi double standards, these are children. AmeriKa needs to wake up and take the justice system away from biased legislators and prosecutors. Long live the power of Jury Nullification. (Look it up) "

    JUNKYARD COPS wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:41 PM:

    " REMEMBER ALL YOU OUT THERE COMMENTING. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT SUPPOSEDLY THE BEST HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER POLICE FORCE IN THE STATE. YOU DON'T REALLY THINK THE PALMER PD/TROOPERS WOULD MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF NOTHING? WHO KNOWS THE BOYS/PARENTS MIGHT HAVE FREINDS IN HIGH PLACES. PRETTY SAD SITUATION. NOT A BIG FAN OF PPD. SORRY "

    To WTF? wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:23 PM:

    " Absolutely correct! The ravens have returned to devour the garbage. "

    WTF? wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:30 PM:

    " The public schools teach young innocent children all about sex in grade school. TV, movies, and music ram sex down our children's throats 24x7. Adults make all the above happen, yet adults complain when children explore sex? What hypocrites we have become!
    "

    Miamy wrote on Jan 19, 2008 11:13 AM:

    " Great to blame the president for lack of parental control. This whole thing is out of control and I agree with topnife, "kids need to be educate more not incarcerated!" We need a few more everyday learning classes taught and not ancient history. Kids are no longer being taught right from wrong at home.
    "

    To Bob wrote on Jan 19, 2008 11:02 AM:

    " Looks like you paid more attention to "bus lessons" and not enough attention to spelling lessons. "

    Jason Elsford wrote on Jan 19, 2008 9:54 AM:

    " Girls of age 13 certainly know what is legal, ethical behavior and what is not. If this girl made the decision to assault 2 boys, the police have the legal and ethical obligation to arrest her.

    I'm glad to see police doing what they're hired to do: protect the innocent and uphold the law. "

    Palmer860 wrote on Jan 19, 2008 9:54 AM:

    " If I had a dollar for all the intellectuals who said something like "I wish that happened to me when I was 13," I could probably take everyone posting in here out to lunch. Please, come up with some original thought! "

    Hedog wrote on Jan 19, 2008 8:38 AM:

    " Dee in Texas. You got it exactly right! Liberalism is a total mental disorder and now we're paying for it. Visualize common sense people, it really does matter.... "

    Rehtaeh wrote on Jan 19, 2008 8:18 AM:

    " This reminds me of a 'CSI:crime scene investigation' episode. The older brother (like 11) murdered his younger brother (like 6) just because he told everyone(at least thats what the 11 year old said under the investigation)that he (11 year old)wet the bed. theres was no reason to do any thing but maybe yell at his younger brother, not murder him!!!!! And also 'CSI' is a realistic fiction show, this is very possible, to at least happen. "

    Changing Times wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:15 AM:

    " When I was 13, 47 years ago, I, along with all my 13 years friends, would not complained about a 13 year old girl touching me. "

    Bob wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:13 AM:

    " If anybody thinks this kind of touching did not happen in the past, i mean the 15th century past, is nieve. We are sexual beings and we explore our sexual urges. This kind of exploration does not turn anyone, male or female, into pediphiles. School buses are the training grounds for all our future sexual experiance. Geez, where is the anti sex leauge? I remember my first "touching" experiance in the back of a bus. I am not a pervert and either is she. She is a mother and wife( not mine) and responsible citizen, (oh yeah and christian). "

    rg wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:53 AM:

    " That's it, if you fart in class, life in prison. "

    seen it all wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:50 AM:

    " Actually with the way society is run today, does anyone learn any lesson when justice for all is set aside? Has this little girl been victimized herself? I once had a lawyer who said "There is nothing wrong with showing your love to a child. It is ok. (sick) As we yell stop the insanity and crimes,corrution, and cover-ups continue. There is nothing fair or good about the present system and how it is run.
    "

    Rick in Deep Thought wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:39 AM:

    " Sorry.. if the perpetrators had been boys, then all of you idiots would be praising the cops.. well guess what.. this 13 year old girl needs to get some punishment. It is NOT appropriated behavior.. and since boys would get punished, she should also. "

    JoanRene wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:16 AM:

    " When we hold up celebrities with little moral values when trampy housewife shows are popular, when we vilify anyone who stands up for their moral convictions as "intolerant", what do you expect? She is only acting out on what the popular culture and adults dictate as acceptable behavior (unless, of course, it happens to you). What was not mentioned a few years ago is all over the media and even celebrated. If she was a "Hooters" waitress and did that, the guys would be high-fiving each other. "

    Lisa wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:13 AM:

    " Flash back to 1979, I started wearing a bra & I promise every boy in my 6th grade class popped the strap at least once.
    I think all of this is called puberty. Feelings & emotions that are new and very confusing.

    I guess tag is not outlawed in schools & playgrounds because God only knows where we have all been touched playing that game.

    Maybe boys and girls should start wearing cottilion gloves again!
    "

    Gersld wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:08 AM:

    " We have all kind of crimes being committes in the street of our cities that are not addressed by the police but the same police spends it's time prosecuting a 13 year old. Two things come to mind.
    I have to wonder what type of boy has to have the police take care of his problems.
    And what happened to our society when the problems of a 13 year old have to be publisized and settled by police "

    innj wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:06 AM:

    " Blow up your tv's, throw away your newspapsers,and use computers for business only. do you think the people in the world who go hungry really care about someone touching someone else. "

    Jason wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:05 AM:

    " Well folks read it and weep. This is what Libralism and the fruits of Hollywood, NOW, the ACLU, and all the other moral degenerates we seem to have cultivated in this country since the 60's love in. Remember 'Love The One Your With'. If you perpetuate a nanny state, a nanny state is what you'll get. Big Brother Is Watching. "

    mateo wrote on Jan 19, 2008 6:00 AM:

    " I think ya'll are having a little gender identity crisis up there in Alaska. With the man to woman ratio up there, you'd think the boys would be grateful. "

    Full Timer wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:57 AM:

    " What'sa matter editor? Is my comment that far off?

    "It is in the government's interest to make normal activities illegal. That way everyone is guilty of something and thereby they remain quiet and easily controlled."
    "

    demsmustgo wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:54 AM:

    " This is crazy,13 year old girl should not go to jail for touching another 13 year old boy!I dont understand why they didnt call her parents or suspend her?All this shows is how lazy the teachers have become,if a child acts up call the cops!I remeber doing dumb things at that age and when i got in trouble,it was my parents who took care of my butt!No rules anymore for these kids and starts at home,with the lazy parents also! "

    Concerned wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:46 AM:

    " Dee in Texas hit it on the nailhead. We are reaping what has been sown. "

    TV wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:41 AM:

    " OOOH MYYYY GOOOOOOOOSH. You people are killing me. It's only natural to start experimenting at that age. Geesh. If you didn't, then something is wrong with you. SOunds like the police state is alive and well. "

    sweet eddie wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:22 AM:

    " Ten years ago, I witnessed a case in FEDERAL COURT where one family was suing three other families, an elementary school,and a school district
    because three boys name-called their son at school. There were thirteen defense attorneys present. We can thank the ACLU, lawyers and self-righteous, paranoid parents with money for such blatant abuses of the justice system. Based on this, the girl's case
    will probably make it to the Supreme Court. Parents should set aside legal
    defense funds for their kids. Judges
    should stop cases like this before they
    begin. Consider your judges carefully. "

    Kman wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:12 AM:

    " What most of you need to realize is that it used to be a parent to parent thing when something like this happened. THEN, womens rights groups screamed that people regardless of age need to be arrested and put in jail. They never imagined that girls would do something like this. Don't blame the authorities, blame NOW and other womens rights groups for petitioning this and the state leaders for enacting this into a punishable law. The authorities only enforce it. "

    Mike wrote on Jan 19, 2008 5:08 AM:

    " This is nuts. The police officer are at fault. They say they are gender blind, but more likely they are totally blind. "

    dancingeagle wrote on Jan 19, 2008 4:33 AM:

    " one must wonder what is taking place in the home that would allow this type of behavior. We are looking at a symptom of something else and should investigate what is behind this symptom "

    Dee in Texas wrote on Jan 19, 2008 3:49 AM:

    " Well, what else should we expect?
    Ever since the Oh-so-wonderful Cultural Revolution of the '60s, Liberals in Hollywood have fed our kids a steady diet of sex, sex and more sex... while Liberals in Education have taught them that there's no such thing as Right or Wrong and they have a right to "do what feels good".
    Now, when kids act on this indoctrination, the Liberal PC Police prosecute them for it.
    You can't have it both ways. A society with no restrictions or morals will NOT "behave appropriately".
    We're reaping what we've allowed to be sown. "

    Republican wrote on Jan 19, 2008 12:54 AM:

    " Don't any of the idiots posting realize that civilization is based on the rule of law.

    Without law and order, we might as well let the Islamafascists take over.

    We have got to stop coddling these criminals. Look where it has got us.

    The girl should be prosecuted as an adult and put where society will be safe. "

    Darrin wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:32 PM:

    " I'm not sure what part of repeated and forced people aren't getting. If an adult male did this he would be arrested. If an adult female did this she would be arrested. If a 13 year old boy did this he would be arrested. Shame on those of you who think a 13 year old is less of a human, has less rights, and is less deserving of equal protection for having been born male. "

    Spacedteacher wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:23 PM:

    " In a rule of law society the law must be applied equally. If it's illegal for a boy to touch a girl in such a manner then the reverse is also illegal. In short NO means NO whether you are a boy or girl ,man or woman. All other considerations are trivial at best. The first and foremost priority is the victim. All other considerations are secondary and can be sorted out later.Thank you ladies for passing laws to protect young boys as well as young women. What an ironic twist of events for the feminist agenda. "

    Rugburner wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:16 PM:

    " NOCOMMENT, the officer quoted in the article does seem to hint that the actions were asked to cease and did not, so I think that gave the police no other choice but to end the situation themselves. "

    elusive wapiti wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:19 PM:

    " Kudos to the police department for acting as they are required to. Perhaps it will shed light on how ridiculous the feminist jurisprudence system is when applied equally. In a day and age when schools are effeminized and being a boy is a pathology stories like this are good to show how ridiculous we have become. In the boys defense, subjected to a popular culture that belittles them and an education system that treats them as second class citizens they struck back- consciously or not- at how far gone we have allowed things to get. "

    patriotfirst wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:00 PM:

    " I think that this society has become intolerant to EVERYTHING and forget how we were when we were growing up. If anyone in here believes they never thought about sex that young you are full of crap. If you didnt take it this far, why didnt you? Most likely because your parents NOT THE FREAKING SCHOOL system, told you what was appropriate behavior and what wasnt. We need to stop relying so much on the police to do OUR jobs for us. "

    Tired of Whiners wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:39 PM:

    " Bruce,
    Media is here to inform people of things that are happening in the community, things that may not contain many facts and for a good reason (ie. the age of victim and perpetrator). They are also here to provide readers with coverage of events that may spark controversy (like whether or not police are upholding the law appropriately). Clearly based on the amount of comments this story has received it IS of interest to the public. Perhaps you should "get a life" and stop reading (and complaining) about something you feel is such a rag.
    Toodles. "

    NOCOMMENT wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:16 PM:

    " I guess it shows the times we are in to say that political correctness has invaded the police department is an understatement.. What should they have done? the answer: *PARENTS* get the parents involved and I think things like this can be solved without a sexual assault charge or equally absurd thing done to a juvenile's record. look everybody has things in their background that reaks of absurdity on one level or another. Just remember that Oh Policeman and Procecutor your YOUTH and see that things have been done in secret may ultimatley come to light. "

    tommy in tenn wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:52 PM:

    " a verbale warning for the first offence would have been sufficent in my opinion. "

    patrick in fl wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:12 PM:

    " This is just great!!!! Nothing better to do than print THIS???? Too much coverage of too much news ! I for one will not stand for it!! But I will sit for it.....much better. No... still STUPID !!!! "

    Bruce in alaska wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:53 PM:

    " My problem with this whole incident, IS, what in the
    world, ever possessed the Reporter, and then the
    Editor, of this RAG. to print this story, in the first place. There are FEW FACTS, no names, little Information, and not likely to get more, in the future.
    What were they thinking? Does the population of
    the Mat-Su really need to READ about this story, in
    their newspaper, with only this amount of FACTS available. Someone needs to get a LIFE, a learn to
    figure out what IS News, and what ISN'T News... "

    I Art Laughing wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:38 PM:

    " Yeah, it's funny that she wasn't released into the custody of her parents or guardians....unless of course her poor behavior was somehow the result of her treatment at home. Maybe the police getting to the bottom of this and finding out the girl was a victim is slightly more important than us jumping on the "every cop is a fascist" bandwagon? I'm sure it'd be better to send her back into a potentially abusive home though and just pretend none of this ever happened....ignoring this kind of thing is always the best policy. "

    KeysT wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:34 PM:

    " Obviously this girl learned that behavior from her mother...I mean she couldn't have just decided to do it on her own right???? She must have been abused to learn this??? I mean teenagers going thru puberty don't experiment and play doctor do they? To say that she must have been abused herself is not only ignorant but also out of touch with reality and prudish. "

    me wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:33 PM:

    " Some people think just because they are boys they wanted to be touched. That's not always true. The boys obviously didn't want to be touched by this girl, and they have that right to just say NO. And PLEASE stop blaming the cops... when you call the cops for help they have to respond. It's not their fault someone called in a time of need... Yes a time of need. If the parents , teachers and all involved felt that this could be resolved without assistance then they wouldn't have CALLED! "

    REEN wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:29 PM:

    " THIS HAPPENED WITH 13 YEAR OLDS!!!! WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL - ALLEDGEDLY TOUCHING THE BOYS OVER THEIR CLOTHING!!!
    DON'T POLICE OFFICERS HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO?
    "

    Charles wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:22 PM:

    " I suspect that many children acting out sexually at a young age have been abused. I can't think of any way this girl would be compelled to fondle or sexually assault a peer unless she herself had been taught that behavior. She should not be in jail, she should be in a therapists office. "

    Joe Gil wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:08 PM:

    " in a police state even little children are criminals "

    R. W. A. III wrote on Jan 18, 2008 2:04 PM:

    " Now, do WE ALL understand what this silly POLITICAL CORRECTNESS has caused humanity? "

    Squanto wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:59 PM:

    " It's outrageoous that the police would arrest this 13 year old girl and traumatize her this way. It used to be that parents, schools, churches and the like would resolve these issues privately without any government intervention. Now we have the government involved in everything and that's a direct result of us voting to raise our own taxes and expand government. I guarantee you that I will be voting against all tax increases and bond issues if this is how government wants to waste our money. One more child dragged through the legal system, traumatized and stigamitized for life. Great! "

    Seth S. wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:46 PM:

    " Dave R. what about Barney Frank, the democrat who had a male prostitution ring being ran out of his apartment? he is currently head of House Financial Services Committee "

    Fred wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:33 PM:

    " Well, I've never been to Alaska, but I'm glad to see just because an entire country seperates us and you, that you guys in the tundra are just as insane as the guys in the lower 48. "

    Markus, from Brazil wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:26 PM:

    " What is wrong with this girl??NOTHING!!Whem I was 13, I dreamed with a girl like this!!All the boys dreamed!!This girl is not dirty!!Dirty is the brains of the people who condens girls like this!! "

    Hmmm... wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:10 PM:

    " Interesting to see the number of posts actually declined. The editor clearly wasn't screening these posts earlier, which speaks to their decision-making skills, but I'm not surprised. And by the way, it's "Metiva" not "Mativa." Then again, he's only a city councilman, so I can understand why Harrier and every editor would get it wrong in today's paper. C'mon, we expect more. Do your jobs, people. It's not that hard. "

    Greg wrote on Jan 18, 2008 1:01 PM:

    " Some of you seem to think that a 13-year old is still a child. You might be surprised to find that murders are committed by kids younger than 13.

    Crime figures compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, based on reports from 11,249 agencies in 1985, reported that youths 15 years old and younger were responsible for 381 cases of murder and non-negligent manslaughter, 18,021 aggravated assaults, 13,899 robberies and 2,645 rapes. Children 12 and under were responsible for 21 of the killings, 436 of the rapes, 3,545 aggravated assaults and 1,735 robberies, the F.B.I. said. "

    Alex wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:40 PM:

    " We are a sick nation! Prosecute a 13 year old girl for a 'terrible crime' of touching a boy? They are all out of their mind! The principal should have talked to girl's parents and boy's parents. Case closed. Looks like local police have nothing to do! We have 12 millions of illegal aliens and lots of other crimes. We have 2 million people behind bars. And they are busy arresting a child. How pathetic! "

    David wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:33 PM:

    " My response was to Max who made mention of President Clinton's behavior. "

    Torquemada wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:26 PM:

    " Definitely a case for capital punishment. "

    Doc wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:19 PM:

    " Sounds like this young girl is well on her way to a promising career in elementary education. After all, how many female teachers have we heard about in "relationships" with their young students? Like Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks, "because that's where the money is!" "

    KP wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:09 PM:

    " So to the people who think...come on...these boys are probably spoiled brats...or tattle tales....if this was a rape of 1 boy raping 2 girs (separately) and we found that the girls were stuck up brats, and told on everyone to get their way...then I guess it would not matter either. It doesn't matter what the victims behavior was/is, the police questioned this girl, and got the facts from her, and made a decision based on that.
    Like someone else said...we don't know anything about the details...just what was reported....and that......is not enough....think about the Duke Case... "

    Kevin T wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:01 PM:

    " Incarceration without bail seems an unusual disposition -- generally a juvenile violator is released into the custody of parents or guardians. Authorities often use the secrecy that cloaks juvenile proceedings to hide their violations of the rights of the accused juvenile. Remember, at this point, there has been no adjudication that any offense occurred. "

    Kevin, San Jose, ca wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:55 AM:

    " Did those of you who think this was wrong read it? They said that this is repeated behavior. The girl was told to stop, and she chose not to. Yes some 13 year olds are children, some are vicious too....I taught 6,7,and 8th graders, and most were great, but we had one girl who liked the tough, sexually active image she portrayed....she was also pregnant @ 14 and a mother @ 15. Yes the parents have a role to play...but it seemed like this girl was told to back off, and didn't. Consequences. Consequences. "

    deadeye wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:54 AM:

    " David--you for got to mention President Willian Jefferson Clinton, Democrat. "

    Michael wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:36 AM:

    " Do you imagine these officers were eager to deal with the crap storm they knew would be raised? So, I'm guessing they had good reason for the action they took. Not likely this is your standard grab and giggle bit. If it is trivial, then a judge will sort it out shortly. A male doing the same thing likely would have been arrested the first time. Anyhow, suggesting that young boys do not deserve the same sort of protection as the girls get is both not merely shallow and sexist, it suggests a sickness. "

    David wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:35 AM:

    " Very Interesting Max.

    Have you heard of Larry Craig and Ted Haggard? How about these people?
    * Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.

    * Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.

    *Florida Republican Senator Bob Allen arrested for soliciting an undercover male officer to perform oral sex on the officier for $20. "

    Dave R wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:34 AM:

    " Does anyone remember when they were 13? I didn't consider myself a "child" when I was 13. I was well aware of my actions and their consequences. I think by around age 7 this starts to occur. 13 year olds can be very capable people, society should treat them like "children" who bear no responsibility? Come on.

    You can't accurately comment on this case without knowing all the facts. Just because she was a 13 year old female means little unless you know the whole story. "

    Rori wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:31 AM:

    " The reality is.. nobody posting on here knows the story-- dont be foolish and believe everything you read is true. People throw the terms "Sexual harrassment" around like its a damned tennis ball. I suggest you all put yourself in these people's positions instead of judging them without knowing the complete story. You know, I was arrested in high school for being randomly jumped by a black girl, but the school had to have me arrested to C.Y.A. themselves from looking racist. I was pardoned completely a year later. "

    Okie Again wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:26 AM:

    " Ok once again people THINK USE YOUR HEAD!
    It is NOT ok to involve police!
    This is not a police matter! If it were the bus driver committing the act..YES THEY WOULD BE INVOLVED!

    It is NOT it is a student... a child... a disturbed (maybe?!) child BUT A CHILD!
    Suspend her... heck EXPEL her if needed!
    DO NOT involve the police that is ridiculous.. Sorry for 2 boys but guess what? THEY TOO ARE CHILDREN! This will not haunt them... they will get over it! (well maybe not now that it has been blown out of context)
    "

    Mark wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:26 AM:

    " I guess I am from a differant time, When I was 13 and a 13 year old girl was doing that to me I would not have called the police or complained to anybody I would have willingly participated. These modern politically correct times confuse me. If the girl did not use force or an implied threat of harm why was she arrested in the first place? What is this world coming to? "

    Robin wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:23 AM:

    " Dont want women to vote? Afraid they might make more sense? (in response to mattohio, who I'm sure is sitting in his tighty whiteys on his 16 year old couch, LONELY, and celibate for 12+ years).
    "

    Fred wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:20 AM:

    " Well, I've never been to Alaska, but I'm glad to see just because an entire country seperates us and you, that you guys in the tundra are just as insane as the guys in the lower 48. "

    mattohio wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:07 AM:

    " if it was a boy touching a girl the libs would be whinning about equal rights and the aweful white man...its so pathetic to me that they have such a double standard but thats what happens when you give women the right to vote. "

    mattohio wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:06 AM:

    " louis wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:10 AM:

    " Leave it to the militant Conservatives to apply their radical religious views to the law! Give the girl and the boys counseling about appropriate behavior and involve the parents also. Sheesh! "

    are you flipping kidding me...louis louis louis....whats good for the goose is good for the gander honey...its funny when LIBERALS act like they are so nonobjective and only looking out for the weak and powerless when in reality they are pandering to a voting base too stupid to see through the bullcrap... "

    D.R. Israel wrote on Jan 18, 2008 11:03 AM:

    " " Ok...Wake up call...Again/Final
    I wrote earlier blogs at 5:56 am and 8:45 am. My point is simple...Until you become a victim yourself and or it happens to one of your own; you will never be able to understand exactly how the parents feel. Until you know all the facts in this case...who are you to judge the actions taken by the persons involved (irregardless of who they are be it the police, the parents, etc...)whom, I am certain, know more details than anyone here. At age 13 or 30 right from wrong is understood. "

    KIM wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:56 AM:

    " There is way too much judgement being passed around here, with no facts to back it. The boys could be obnoxious spoiled brats, you just don't know. I used to wonder what was under the pants too! No deviation in the family, never molested, I just wondered! I can't believe people are actually judging spelling!!!! With incorrect spelling (idoit?)! Grow up. "

    Grow up wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:44 AM:

    " some of you people need to grow up and for your INFO it was the school who called the cops not the boys..i like how you morons know what went down...But you dont..for the ones who thinks its ok go touch a GIRL and see what happens...For your Info there are alot of sexual perditors who live in Sutton,,look it up.maybe this girl was molested thats why she did what she did ,,It dont matter it was wrong...i guess when a 13 year old boy or girl kills someone cause there jelous then thats ok cause there just 13... "

    KCA wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:37 AM:

    " this is for FV..

    FV wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:05 AM:

    " No one knows what happened. Everybody cool it. Does not matter what we think anyway. The legal system is not run based on polls (or blogs) "


    Best post all day.. only one that is actually accurate

    well done "

    anna wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:36 AM:

    " 13 or not - her behavior was not appropriate and they are right to ARREST her. She is on her way to becoming a "child predator". She is a very sick 13 year old - does not belong in school. "

    r.houghton wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:31 AM:

    " My son was acused of sexual assault at a weekend party.The school heard a rumor and called the state police.I first heard of incident from them,the state police.After I hired a lawyer and went to dist.attorney and found out the girl in question told them nothing had happened to her and my son was innocent.This was not good enough for the police, they wanted to prosecute someone.It cost me 2,500.00 to clear his name.The school admitted 1 year later that they called the police.Ihave emergecy contact info on record with school but they decided to call police instead.FMRHS.sucks. "

    M.Clements wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:30 AM:

    " I can just about guarantee that a 13 year old girl molesting other children is a victim of sexual abuse herself. Instead of arresting her, she should be evaluated by a psychologist. "

    Remington wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:27 AM:

    "
    My first question would have to be "Whats going on at home?" Is that what someone is doing to her at home and that is where she learned it?
    Also, have to agree that if the boys were the offenders everyone would want to throw the book at them.
    My guess is that that girl needs serious counseling,along with the rest of our youth. Wake up people our children are in serious trouble!!!! "

    John wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:25 AM:

    " This is appropriate punishment. Be careful not to stereotype guys by saying that any 13 year old boy would love a girl to touch him. I commend the school and authorities for this action. "

    rhoughton wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:24 AM:

    " Children in public school have no rights and parents are notified after the fact.Is this still america? "

    salc wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:21 AM:

    " this is the results of not immpeaching Klinton. If he was impeached in shame as he should been, all this sex stories you read today about kids would not be happening...and on top of that, we still have Hillary... "

    M.Clements wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:21 AM:

    " You have to wonder, has this 13-year-old child been sexually molested? More times than not, when a child molests other children, they have been victims of sexual abuse themselves.

    Instead of arresting her, someone should give her a psychological evaluation to make sure she hasn't been a victim herself. "

    rob richards the GREAT wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:19 AM:

    " the truth is that kids should be held accountable for their actions. especially when it comes to assault. don't forget we're prepared to deal with juvenile delinquents. it's not like she's going to a regular jail, ok? "

    TTRed wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:18 AM:

    " I am just utterly shocked that this could happen in America. This girl deserves to be prosecuted as an adult. These poor boys are scarred for life. Prosecute the girls parents also. Prosecute the bus driver for allowing it to happen on the bus. This is a travesty of the worst possible kind. There will be outrage, disgust and sorrow throughout the world because of this incident. When 13 year olds do these kind of things...or even think of sex...it certainly reflects just how horrible society has become. May God help us all. "

    Marge Simpson wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:13 AM:

    " Would somebody please think about the children?!? "

    Amused by the idiots wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:11 AM:

    " I have to laugh at the ignorance that appears all over this board. Why canonize this "poor little girl" that none of you know anything about.

    READ THE ARTICLE!

    "(Detective) Turney said little information could be released about the incident since all the involved parties are juveniles" which clearly shows that all of you soap boxers really should shut up for the time being.

    Any thinking person would realize that there's way more to this story than you imagine yet you're ready to demonize police or knock the boys. "

    Max wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:06 AM:

    " You can chalk up a lot of this kind of conduct on the part of juveniles to Bill Clinton, the idol of Liberals. He taught a generation of young people about oral sex,infidelity, salaciousness,and lying. Obviously the poor girl doesn't have proper parenting either. She doesn't need jail. She needs a proper home and parents. "

    youth therapist wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:05 AM:

    " Coming from someone that works as a therapist for boys that have committed sexual offenses, I agree that this girl needs counseling and help. The article says she was arrested, which is where the help usually begins. These kids usually don't stay in juvenile detention. They're given a case worker who places them in a home where she can be helped. Reading the comments, I see a lot of misunderstanding of how the system works. This girl will get help, as will the boys. She is most likely a victim of abuse and needs intervention. "

    OkieFromMuskoge wrote on Jan 18, 2008 10:03 AM:

    " Seriously people? Its for some reason ok to lock her up? SHES 13!!!!...13..13..13..13.. sunk in yet?...13... You know kinda like when politicians talk about how to integrate or give amnesty to illegal aliens...you know illegal..illegal..illegal...
    Yes this sounds like assault...assault from a 13 year old you freaking morons!!!
    How many school fights can you remember? Should every one of those children have been locked up? To mingle with other true delinquents? Learn new tricks? New views?
    GROW A BRAIN SERIOUSLY!
    IT DOES NOT MATTER THE GENDER SHE IS A CHILD!!!!!!!!! geez... "

    aaron wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:57 AM:

    " you know if the boys touched her back they'd be expelled and charged/tried as adults. this girl is getting what she deserves if the boys felt violated in any way. "

    Larry Craig wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:46 AM:

    " Put her away for 40 years and make sure her name is on the sex offenders registry for life. "

    Danny Eller wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:45 AM:

    " louis wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:10 AM:
    " Leave it to the militant Conservatives to apply their radical religious views to the law!"

    What a dump thing to say. It is the PC crowd "liberal left" that has brought this crap about. There "are" differences in boys and girls. failing to recognize that is just PC dribble. A boy cornering two girls on the bus and then doing the same thing would have been far more egregious and would have required strong intervention. "

    Matt from California wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:41 AM:

    " NOBODY complains when boys get busted for stuff like this.
    -The article said they repeatedly asked her to stop, and she wouldn't. If it were a boy, he would get no sympathy here, there would be no outrage whatsoever.
    If this is what it takes to reverse the idiocy and stop charging boys for this kind of thing, then I'm all for "equality" "

    The Stupidity The Nanny State Is Amazing wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:31 AM:

    " There was a similar case in Oregon in Feb 07. Eventually (due to a combination of Public outcry and the urging of a Judge with some sensibility) all charges were dropped against the two 13yr old boys in that case. I suggest that your community speak up and put a quick halt to this idiotic waste of legal resources. Leons response is correct to question the 5th amendment issue concerning kids. For info on this case Google: " Mcminnville oregon Party Boy Dance Case ". Or go to NewsRegister.com and search the Archives. "

    harris wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:11 AM:

    " Regarding the 13 year old girl who has been arrested for sexual mlestation, is a sad matter.Some are angry with her, some are angry with the police, but the real issue is,is that all parties loose.
    This is a child that needs councelling and the boys as well. Now that every one has made a big deal out of it, this is going to truamatize all involved.You should have kept it simple. "

    louis wrote on Jan 18, 2008 9:10 AM:

    " Leave it to the militant Conservatives to apply their radical religious views to the law! Give the girl and the boys counseling about appropriate behavior and involve the parents also. Sheesh! "

    JohnQ wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:46 AM:

    " The behavior is inappropriate and suggests that this child may have herself been a victim of sexual assault. Detaining the child protects her during the investigation and allows an assessment by professionals.
    "

    D.R.Israel wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:45 AM:

    " Ok...Wake up call...Again
    I wrote an earlier blog at 5:56 am. Apparently people are'nt reading these and letting the basic information sink in. Being involved in a similar situation 4 years ago I believe, as the parent of the person assaulted, I at least have some qualifications to be heard here. The individual that assaulted my daughter, my nephew, is in trouble for a similar act now. I tried to help him then.
    Parents...WAKE UP!! As for the rest of you, trust me...you don't know the facts. "

    ingramdr wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:43 AM:

    " What happen to letting the parents disciplining the child. Why the police? Now she will have a record for the rest her life. What happen to school suspensions ect? God, what is our society coming too? "

    Bryon In Mass wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:39 AM:

    " What people are forgetting is that if it would have been a boy touching two girls he would have been thrown in jail and considered a sex offender. The ACLU and NOW would have both would have filed a law suit not only agianst the boy but the school as well. Actually for a battery to occur it is any unwanton touching.Indicnet assualt is any unwanton touching around the grion, breasts, or rear area. But then again it also depends on the state laws. On a side note I agree the parents and the school should handle it. "

    Pete wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:30 AM:

    " And if she is 200 lbs and the boys are 80 lbs? Was verbal threats? Was there a weapon? Could there be a physical threat there that we do not have the information on? Evn when I was kid 50+ years ago there were girls you din't want to be around for many reasons. This will all come out as to whether the cops are "out of line" or not. Let the system run it's course, THEN jump in if something is amiss. "

    Harry wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:23 AM:

    " What is the earthly sense of involving children in sexual harassment charges? Second question: what is the earthly sense of bombarding children every day, all day with sexual information and titillation on the television and on the Internet? Third question: what are the consequences of teaching precisely detailed sexual techniques to children in school, coupled with an official view that there is nothing wrong with doing any of it? The world is reaching the final stages of idiocy in regard to these things, meanwhile protesting loudly that it has done nothing wrong. "

    me wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:22 AM:

    " We need to build giant insane assylums
    for our public officials. "

    The last Paragraph FTW wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:20 AM:

    " All you people that want to fire the cops, how bout I come over and touch you through your clothes? Why does this 13 yr old GIRLS' age or sex matter here? If people taught their children correctly, this girl would have left her hands to herself. In the course of their investigation, they found enough evidence to charge her with all those counts. She was clearly way out of line. What if she caused damage to their reproductive systems? Instead of Juvie, we'd see lawsuits for the girl, school, and bus company. "

    Dude wrote on Jan 18, 2008 8:09 AM:

    " Gut reaction #1: A girl groping me. How is this a problem?

    Gut reaction #2: If it is a problem, why in the world can't a teenage boy simply tell the teenage girl to knock it off? Do kids really need to run to the police everytime they are doing something wrong to each other? "

    JWVC wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:55 AM:

    " Hmmm. I don't think this has been to trial. Assumed guilty already. All these comments assume that the police told the truth, that the boys told the truth, that the girl did what they said. All of you are so worried about breaking the law and apparently you don't know what the law is. Children lie, police lie, reporters lie, but in this case, the reporters are definitely using this to provide excitement. It works but no one is guilty yet. All is alleged. So keep it up, convict her. "

    Flabbergasted wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:53 AM:

    " People, the article says the evidence can't be released. Without that, you can't have any idea whether the officer was justified or not. And for the people who think if this was a male that it wouldn't make the paper, wake up. When it comes to any level of sexual crime, men are pursecuted by the media regardless of the truth (Example: Duke University). Also, even though she was arrested, it doesn't mean she will be convicted. Maybe this is a scare tactic to halt this prior to it become a serious conviction later in life? We don't know. "

    Beez wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:40 AM:

    " Interesting - all this outrage only occurs when a "poor widdle GIRL" gets arrested, but doesn't seem to occur when a young man gets put through the same hell. If it takes an arrest like this to wake people up, then I'm all for it! "

    dezman wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:38 AM:

    " "Charles Darwin"- WHO THE HECK CARES IF THEY'RE TEENS. I don't even have teens in my family, we have young adults. You're the real freak. To say that because they are kids they are going to experiment with sex is like saying they are going to experiment with alchohol or drugs(an illegal activity may i remind you). They could get all kinds of diseases and the girls can get pregnant. Anyone who is saying that the police officers are crazy is totally
    un-American. You're against all cops and probably against the war too, right? "

    The Man On The Street wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:30 AM:

    " Welcome to the world of equaletee girls...

    The law is the law, and should be applied equally. PERIOD!

    TMOTS "

    Mike wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:25 AM:

    " Don't blame the cops. Blame a legal system distorted by lawyers bent on making the world anti-common sense and promoting personal irresponsibility. "

    Dutchman wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:21 AM:

    " Remember, "Your rights in where the next person's begin". Why have we gotten away from this train of thought?
    Oh Yeah, these kids are in PUBLIC SCHOOL! Never mind, they are taught by teachers that think of them a decendents of Apes and Fish. So, we are animals and it is OK to act on our instinct. What a child learns at these ages STAYS with them for life, so why not teach them right from wrong NOW????? They will act out like this when they grow up,,and guess who the victims will be? YOU KIDS!!! "

    vince! wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:17 AM:

    " All this crap can eventually be traced back to TRIAL LAWYERS, who always look for a reason to sue. "

    Doof wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:16 AM:

    " Does this mean I can get my girlfriend arrested if she tries to play doctor again... (she is 23).
    "

    Art Z wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:11 AM:

    " The article reports ...."Palmer Police Det. Kelly Turney said that while he could not discuss the specifics of the evidence collected, in this case the facts justified incarcerating the girl .......... and that no bail amount has been set for the girl."
    The reporter did no investigating of fact but just repeats Turney's words. Incarerated and no bail, what a dangerous perp



    "

    Me wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:09 AM:

    " If the situation was reversed "boys touching girls" most of you would agree with the law. "

    mary wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:05 AM:

    " After glancing at just a few comments about how stupid and blown out of proportion this arrest is I am compelled to comment. As a counselor and educator for 30 yrs. of this age of children it sounds as if some of you are naive. If you had a clue as to the extreme sexual action going among this age you would be concerned and glad that the police are attempting to control and stop this behavior. Kids are unfortunately mimicking adult behavior at an epidemic rate. Thus, the result and only recourse is to deal aggressively. "

    Joe wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:04 AM:

    " Sounds to like it is the police including Turney who should be arrested in this case. How unprofessional! "

    Dom wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:00 AM:

    " Now to know way this USA is no more......... "

    Fibber wrote on Jan 18, 2008 7:00 AM:

    " Amd here I thought all the yokel cops were in the southern states. What a joke! "

    James C. wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:59 AM:

    " Need any more proof that we live in the age of stupidity? "

    Jerry wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:55 AM:

    " Law inforcement and so called people in authority have completly lost it!!!! "

    Don in Utah wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:44 AM:

    " Several of you need to figure out that this forum is not your personal playground. It is possible to have a thought and not type it on the internet.

    Touching is assault only when it places the victim in apprehension or fear of the contact - like when you tell someone you are going to punch them in the face. No fear means no assault. Battery is the offensive touching. If either of the boys saw her coming and tried to get away, then she is guilty of assault and battery.

    Look it up. "

    William wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:44 AM:

    " And she got the idea to touch these boys from who? Are they investigating that part of it? "

    KR wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:42 AM:

    " More PC run amuck. 13 year olds. Give me a break. She should have been taken aside by her parents and some other authority figure, e.g., school counselor, and have it explained to her that this type of behavior is not appropriate. End of story. Arrested? Are we crazy. "

    markus wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:40 AM:

    " for the 13 year old who got in trouble, i think yes she should have been punished from her parents and the school board. she shouldnt have to deal with a record at such a young age for this.as for the two young boys and their parents. they should not have not taken this as serious as they did. my parents have always taught me that the best way to learn is to learn from your own mistakes. "

    MIke F. wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:32 AM:

    " Valley Parent. You've got to be kidding. Instead of passing the problem on to authorities, why not talk to the other kids' parents to determine whether the situation was innocent curiosity or in need of further attention? We don't know all the details, keep that in mind. On the surface this looks dumb to me. We continually project adult problems onto children's lives and far too often rely on someone else to address issues for us. "

    Incidentally wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:28 AM:

    " The human brain develops from the back to the front. In the front is the area which controls logic and rational thinking. The emotional mind is in the back. Until you are in your early 20's, a person is a child incapable of logical and rational decisions because that part of the brain is literally not yet fully constructed. So, yes. This was the behavior of a child. One that needs strong guidance from a parent and school officials about inappropriate behavior. Institutionalizing anyone at a young age tends to have negative side-effects. Grow some compassion in your brain? "

    jj wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:28 AM:

    " What moron called the police?
    Next time call the kids' parents and be done with it. "

    antanitis wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:28 AM:

    " she should be put on a sexual predator list and have to notify her community and stay away from public schools and bus stops. "

    Debi B wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:24 AM:

    " Bottom line, you have 1 person violating another person(s) and obviously with enough evidence to bring charges against her.

    And the idiot that says, let us have sex no matter what age, that's just wrong. You're probably of the mindset it's ok for adults to have sex with consenting children!! That is just sick.

    If I were the parent of one of the boys, I'd want that girl away from society & getting the help she needs. Male violates female, LOCK HIM UP, female violates male, she's too pretty to lock up! Bull!! "

    JWK wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:18 AM:

    " There are two boys in jail in California for running down the school all and slapping the rears of girls as they went. Some were offended but most considered it a game that kids play.

    Simple assault can be just touching a person without their permission. For example, if you touch a police officer you could be arrested for assault.

    Society allows girls as young as 12 to get birth control without their parents permission in some places. Yet, they say that children cannot touch each other. Society can't decide what is what anymore. "

    phildo wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:16 AM:

    " To put a kid in jail, with a record now, for this is a little harsh. Suspend her, ground her, punish her. But prison is no place for a some kid who "touched" another kid. Besides, she is a girl and any 13 y/o boy would love to be touched by any girl, regardless of looks; trust me, i was one once. Double standard? Absolutely! And long live nature's double standards! "

    Herbert wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:11 AM:

    " This isn't about anybody but those two boys. If they felt assaulted then they deserve justice. If she didn't do anything wrong then she will be acquitted and no harm done. (And don't tell me that a couple of nights in juvie will do irreparable harm! It's not like the place is full of American Gangsters from Alaska!)Funny thing is, I bet in 3 years they are begging girls to do to them what this girl got arrested for! "

    Phill wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:10 AM:

    " My God !!

    13 year old child arrested, incarcerated and no bail!!

    Dispicable.

    "

    Joe Furness wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:07 AM:

    " DEATH PENALTY!!! for not obeying the LAWS OF OUR PERFECT LEADERS!!! "

    FV wrote on Jan 18, 2008 6:05 AM:

    " No one knows what happened. Everybody cool it. Does not matter what we think anyway. The legal system is not run based on polls (or blogs) "

    D.R.Israel wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:56 AM:

    " Ok...Wake up call.
    My nephews at age 10 and his brother 8 went over the boundaries of playing doctor with my, then 4 year old, daughter. I attempted to solve the issue with his mother and stepfather. They refused to listen and told me that I did'nt see what I saw with my own eyes and turned a blind eye to it.
    Current events...
    My nephew is now 14 and is behind bars at a juvenile detention center facing charges of Lewd Conduct with an 8 year old. Feb. 5th of 2008 will decide his fate. "

    Dave wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:55 AM:

    " I was very sexual at 13 and, no, I was not sexually abused as a child. Had sex for the first time at 13. To assume that this girl MUST have been sexually abused is misinformed. She may very well have been, but it's not a given. I was also mishievious and grabbed a$$ frequently. Should I have been punished? Definitely, and firmly. Arrested? I don't think so. It was outrageously inappropriate and hormone-driven flirting, not assault. "

    A S wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:53 AM:

    " Ron Orf: You don't spell 'you' yoy. You call someone an idiot for not spelling sleeping 'sleaping' correctly but you can't spell you and they are the idoit? I think not. You should look at yourself before you judge others. "

    RoyinNC wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:53 AM:

    " I did not see a lot of factual information in the news article. Some commentors are surmising facts that were NOT available in the article. "

    hcbrand wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:48 AM:

    " What's inappropriate? Touching? Over clothing?
    Spell this out to me, because nothing wrong has been mentioned, yet. "

    Cogan wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:41 AM:

    " Kids are Kids, What? Have we all forgotten the things we did when we were kids? All that is needed here is a good talking to. To the young ladie and to the boys parents. "

    HTMURPH wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:41 AM:

    " If you enjoy this kind of absurdity, make sure you get out and vote for a liberal!! "

    LOL wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:39 AM:

    " Congrats, you made Drudgereport.com "

    Utterly Insane! wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:39 AM:

    " This should have nothing to do with whether you are conservative or liberal, this has to do with common sense, that is completely missing here. If a 13 boy or girl touch each other over their clothing, a school teacher/official should intervene, and come up with a rational response. You don't incarcerate a child for being a child. This is pure madness! "

    KCA wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:36 AM:

    " I am so tried of hearing libs say, "it's just a child!". One easy question and should be the ONLY question.. did the person do it? If yes, then prosecute and I do not buy juvenile.. if a law is broken, try them and send to jail.. PERIOD.. they are old enough to attend school and be in public, they are old enough to obey the laws.. maybe the parents should teach the kids better.. Hold BOTH accountable. amazing how one of the greatest generations in America history (WWII) raised the worst (Babyboomers) "

    Bill from Iowa wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:30 AM:

    " Read about the fall of Rome --If you understand Darwin.... this PC crap is the human societal version of a species headed for extinction. -- We are forbidden to discipline our children in ways that work for THEM. Many children NEED a non-damaging physical wake-up (spanking) in order to get their attention so that we can teach them. -- If we spank them, we go to jail. If we don't spank them, they get in serious trouble AND THEY GO TO JAIL... WITH A RECORD THAT FOLLOWS THEM THE REST OF THEIR LIVES......S T U P I D!!! "

    Casimir wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:30 AM:

    " "...two boys said she sexually assaulted them"

    I'd bet any amount of money the BOYS didn't say she 'assaulted' them! That's police-speak, not kid speak.
    Talk about a misuse of the language, when a touch gets couched as an 'assault.' Were the boys left battered and bruised? What rubbish. "

    JP wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:29 AM:

    " There are those who want to totally drop the statute of limitations on juvenile sexual assault. Then we'll be able to arrest nearly everyone. That would be a good thing. Stephanie was recently promoted instead of me, and I want her job. Ever since welfare reform social workers have been trying to justify their existence. Soon I'll be able to arrest my parents for spanking me 50 years ago. Think about it! "

    Lynn wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:27 AM:

    " The Officers should be fired for being so stupid to charge the child. "

    JRP wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:26 AM:

    " Where does it say the one student was "touching" the other? I read that one assulted the other. I'm glad the police acted as they did. If some student, girl or boy, grabbed the testicles of my son or private parts of my daughter I would "EXPECT" the police to investigate and since I unlike the other readers weren't there, I unlike the other readers, trust that the police did the correct thing. And "detaining" a minor is not "arresting", so use the correct terms. "

    Billjohnson wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:22 AM:

    " I have one thing to say!

    Jail or Prison in no place for a girl who probably was just flirting! Our police state is getting out of control. They arrest anyone for anything and then the idiots try and justify it! I guarantee you if it was the police officers daughter she would not have been arrested! Double standards my friend, double standards!

    Make that a few things to say! "

    Pennsylvanian wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:22 AM:

    " I think that the responses here are much more revealing (and sometimes more troubling) than the incident itself.

    Why do we feel that this is even worth reading and talking about? I'm sure anyone from either side of the debate would agree that we are facing far more serious problems.

    Eliminate your television and see what happens to the following problems: fragmentation of community, media sensationalism, idiotic "liberal" vs. "other" debates, oversexed pubescents, badly behaved children, uninvolved parents, overreacting law enforcement---the list goes on. "

    ron orf wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:21 AM:

    " By the way, you people who are extolling home school, where the murder rate of children is 240 times higher than any murder in a "government school" should at least learn to spell "sleeping" correctly. It is not "sleaping" you moron! "

    Ron Orf wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:18 AM:

    " The anti-public school people want to have it both ways. If the school does not do anything the godless hippie "government" school are promoting teen sex, and if they take a stand the are "liberal P.C., and dumb." 1. The COP decided to arrest, and having dealt with these situations, I know why. Because AFTER COMPLAINTS were filed the behavior continued and the parents were probably aggressive. Yoy would also be screaming about the hypocricy and "anti-male bias if the girl had gotten a slap. cons love to take both sides of an issue.
    "

    Bluehawk wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:15 AM:

    " Did the boys complain, or was it the parents? "

    Dan wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:03 AM:

    " To the guy who made the comment at the beginning about liberals needing to be hung for treason:
    You are an idiot. I've never encountered anyone in person who is willing to say that to my face. Get out of the internet fantasy world (you know, the one where you are always right and people actually like you). The only reason you say things like that is because you are using the anonymity of internet. I have one question for you though, how in the world is this a political issue? Get over it. "

    Lance wrote on Jan 18, 2008 5:01 AM:

    " While it is unfortunate (and I agree with the posters who say they are sick of children being treated as adults), the fact that the cops are gender blind in this instance is refreshing. I am sick of hearing about little boys who get in trouble for doing what kids do. "

    Greg wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:55 AM:

    " Isn't justice supposed to be blind? If the roles had been reversed and it was a boy who touched two girls inappropriately, and no action was taken, the public would be up in arms. I think it's safe to say that we don't need to coddle girls just because they're girls. That's stone age thinking. Yes, they're "children," but at that age, they are older and wiser than 1st graders and are beginning to be able to make their own adult-like decisions, despite possible home problems. "

    Rosie wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:51 AM:

    " What's good for males is good for females. Kudos to the cops and the school system for NOT promoting yet another LIBERAL double standard. "

    Randy wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:44 AM:

    " Okay, but I am confused what this has to do with liberals or conservatives?!? When I was younger, the most sexually active girls were from rich, conservative families; more so, two of them I knew attended a well-known Catholic school where I grew up.

    That is the age we, as humans, by design or nature (however you believe) go through puberty to -be- sexually active. Instead of coddling them, suppressing any knowledge of that until 18, how about we educate them to be safe. Hormones and emotions are gonna happen, and so is sexual activity. "

    Gary wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:29 AM:

    " The police should stay out of schools for non violent situations. Let the school and parents handle this with a good old fashioned expulsion. "

    WHOA wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:24 AM:

    " The problem with any police job is damn if you do and damn if you don't. Discretion has been taken away. The police must deal with both parents, media, supervisors and district attorney and each one must cover their back. Each one may have a different opinion and if you go against one you jepardize your job. So what's left - follow the law as written. He/she did her job and can't take the blame. It's also called micro-management. By reading the above blogs it confirms what I'm stating - damn if you do and damn if you don't. "

    Dutchman wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:20 AM:

    " One more thing, this little girl's household must be investigated. She didn't think this stuff up on her own, what else is going on there. And if she did, why haven't the parents, if she has any, teach her right from wrong. Oh Yeah, it doesn't matter does it the schools will teach them it's OK to "express" yourself,,,,right.
    We need more parent instead of Spermm and egg donors that want to be their kids "Friends". I know, I know it's easier to say yes then NO!!! "

    Dutchman wrote on Jan 18, 2008 4:14 AM:

    " It is truely refreshing to know that we still two boys in our country that have enough morals to make these claims. The parent should be proud. I am so daamn tired of hearing about CHILDREN in our schools having sex in the classroom, under the grandstands and other places and thinking it's funny to get away with it. We are SUPPOSED to be humans and not animals that go on instinct, that is if you're not a pin headed Darwinist.
    This is good people even if some of you perverts don't get stimulated from it. "

    DP wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:52 AM:

    " Seems like your cops need some real work to do, send them To Philadelphia, we have one of the highest homicide rates in the country and need all the help we can get. "

    Alan from VT wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:41 AM:

    " More and more and more I'm reading stories of children being treated as adults by the legal system. Is that the only form of punishment left to us? Did they close the detention halls after school, or is it just impossible to find a union teacher willing to stay late to tend to one these days?

    I'm sorry, it's hard to imagine this as a serious offense worthy of an arrest - our nation's police officers and court systems have more important work to deal with than teaching children how to behave. "

    John wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:16 AM:

    " A man in Hawaii threw his toddler off a bridge into traffic. Discipline this girl and move on to more important issues. "

    David wrote on Jan 18, 2008 3:16 AM:

    " Well, it's really sad whats going on here. That poor girl is going to have to live with something like this on her record. She probably didn't even know why she is doing it. Give the parents of the two boys a chance to talk to the parents of the girl and work things out, go see a psych, but jailing a little kid will only ensure that they do it more. We all know how kids LOVE to listen to parents! "

    Wondering wrote on Jan 18, 2008 12:43 AM:

    " Palmer has a detective? "

    Brian Keith O'Hara wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:54 PM:

    " I hope I misread someone's comment when they said that was what the boys wanted, why complain? If it were boys doing that to girls, they would have been sent to Juvenile Hall. The same argument that 30 year old female teachers having sex with 11-year-old boys. But if a man did it he would get life in prison. Something is wrong, we go from too light to too harsh. Mainly we need to be just and consistant. "

    Wasilla Citizen wrote on Jan 17, 2008 9:56 PM:

    " Maybe we should be worrying more about our property. There have been many burglaries in the Wasilla area, and these punks need to be caught. Seems more important to me anyway, and I don't even see the Frontiersman reporting on it, except in the police dispatch section. I'm sure someone will let me know if I'm wrong... "

    Faith wrote on Jan 17, 2008 9:48 PM:

    " A lot of people are jumping to conclusions, assuming this was a groping incident. It is also possible that some thing painful or extremely disgusting occurred. I suspect there is a lot more to these incidents. Judgement should be reserved until more is known. As a former teacher, I can assure you that there are sexually active 13-year old girls. Wake up parents and do not assume children are innocent! "

    spiffy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 9:40 PM:

    " Next thing you know, they'll convict eight year-olds playing doctor ... for malpractice! "

    Johann Dohmann wrote on Jan 17, 2008 9:32 PM:

    " I LOOKED THRU ALL THE COMMENTS AND DONT SEE THE ONE I SENT IN OVER 3 HOURS AGO.

    JOHANN DOHMANN, USA "

    JJ wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:57 PM:

    " STOP ARRESTING KIDS YOU FREAKS!!! "

    Monte Haun wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:50 PM:

    " When authorities pass laws the cops don't like, they go to extremes enforcing it until the authorities repeal it or allow the cops to ignore it. Too bad for the people caught up in it, but the cops don't care how much misery they cause, they usually think it's funny.

    If a 13 year old kid is not competent to give consent to sexual acts with an adult, why is she competent to understand that sexual acts with a peer are wrong?

    Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com "

    Bondo wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:43 PM:

    " The problem is the details are not given, there are many ways to have sexual contact and not all of them are pleasurable. She very well could of done something that was painful, and when told to stop she continued to do it. "

    blogster wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:37 PM:

    " when i was that age in the 80's in the Midwestern US... they would take the child asside, call in the parents, and have a sitdown with the principal and talk to the kid. This kind of stuff happened occasionally, and fights etc... at that or near that age. And it was handled. 20% percent of the kid population back then would have never made it through school with these attitudes. and you wonder why 50% never graduate high school today. one misdemeanor mistake and little kids are finished today. Absurd. be ashamed. "

    LawsuitsSuck wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:25 PM:

    " The girl will likely sue for harassment of some sort. Had she not been arrested, the boys would have sued. This is the direction our country is headed, unless we rein in the frivolous lawsuits and the ludicrous overly PC trend. Somebody is getting rich off this type of nonsense and it's not the taxpayers. "

    Truth wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:16 PM:

    " I have read in other posts that if the genders were reversed it would be looked at in a different light. I could care less what gender was in trouble. 13 year olds, are 13 year olds. ANYONE that thinks the police should be involved in this disturbance does not have the courage to stand up for themselves. This type of behavior is very common at this age, and involving the police only creates a dependence for them. Stand up for yourself....this includes parents, educators, and students. If kids do not learn to stand up for themselves now....then when? "

    susan smith wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:07 PM:

    " I am glad she must be accountable. If it where a boy we would be all up in arms "

    Jim wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:40 PM:

    " OMG, the screws have outdone themselves this time. What utter BS police "work." As someone else commented, the copper would have been laughed out-of-town when I was 13. That was 1953, by the way. They wouldn't only have been laughed out of town, they would have been fired and forced to leave town. I am so ashamed of what this Country has become. And, Alaska of all places fer heaven's sake! "

    Havoc wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:16 PM:

    " Innocent till proven guilty.

    Just a side thought, I knew an emancipated, prengant 13 year old at my High School. At 13 I knew damn well not to grope girls, and in fact, started getting Sex Education at the 6th grade (Seattle).

    We may not know the specifics yet, but unwanted touching of that nature is wrong, no matter what the gender roles are. And a 13 year old ought to know better. "

    GhostCrewChief wrote on Jan 17, 2008 7:13 PM:

    " Excellent observation, Leon. I'm pretty sure a 13 year-old US citizen is the same as a 22 year-old US citizen as far as rights go. It does make one wonder, where were the parents? I could have sworn that parents were the main ones responsible for children, not the municiple government. "

    iatrucker wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:57 PM:

    " Some of you need to read the second to last line of the article 2 or 3 more times and then think of your daughters. "

    Greg wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:54 PM:

    " Personally I think you should give the police a break - they investigated and found reason to incarcerate. We don't know anything about this except that she was asked/told to stop and did not.

    The thought that you shouldn't incarcerate criminals until after they are found guilty is ludicrous. If you witness a rape or murder, do you want the perpetrator going free until after the trial? Why would they even show up for the trial if they were on the street and new they would be found guilty? "

    scott wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:52 PM:

    " welcome to the pc world, everyone. "

    Chowchilla Ron wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:49 PM:

    " As a retired teacher, I am curious as to why the girl was not simply warned she would lose her bus riding privileges. And other school discipline steps are possible before civil authorities. And, by the way, girls are not the same as boys. I am so tired of PC people! "

    Elder wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:41 PM:

    " Don't you know you live in the USA-a police state. The cop would have been laughed out of town in the 1950s when I was 13. "

    mike wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:18 PM:

    " I hope there is more to the case than we know. The concept of applying sexual harrassment laws to 13 year olds is absurd. Sexual harrassment refers to an abuse of power at its base. Now we've expanded it out of proportion. I can't imagine why the school couldn't have handled this on their own rather than calling the police. "

    Brad wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:13 PM:

    " The only child being abused is the girl in lock up. Our country is turning into a bad joke. "

    Patrick C. wrote on Jan 17, 2008 6:11 PM:

    " All you people who arguing about "Constitutional rights" are missing the entire point. This is a misbehaving child, plain and simple. Children do stupid things. They need adult guidance and advice so these stupid things will not be repeated. It's common sense, people. You folks are watching too much "Law and Order" on TV and are not spending enough time improving your minds. I'm amazed at the inane stupidity I've had the misfortune to read in this Comment section. "

    Mark wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:58 PM:

    " Palmer cops are notorious Nazis. "

    Phoenix Gramma wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:57 PM:

    " I think that we are gonna have a bunch of sexually messed up kids. Can you imagine, at 13yrs old being convicted of a sex crime and having to register as a sex offender. These kids lives are messed up befor the get started. I think we have some messed up adults who are just so stupid and nieve to think that kids arent going to experament. . . this is human nature. I am not saying that this is right but for God's sake, do we have to ruin the kids lives? "

    ric the artist wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:50 PM:

    " It is amazing what kids are doing thesedays!!!!!I am a classic hippy baby boomer, at that age, I was scared to death of girls...... Sure, I had my dark notions and secret fantasies, but I would have been mortified to act them out publicly..or involve another person.... How is this happening with our young ones today????? "

    JO wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:49 PM:

    " Dumb Dumb Dumb - Well your name says it all. Have ou ever had a smart mouthed 13yr old wiseing off to you, knowing that they are immune since they are 13? Fifth & Sixth graders are having sex on school buses. But your view is "These are children".

    The culprits here are her parents. They did not teach her to respect other people, so she does what she wants.

    This is all too common in today's society. No one repects their neighbor. The cops were right. "

    dezman wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:45 PM:

    " Ben,Kb, and Superman, i understand what you mean but since the boys reported the incidents that is a VERY good clue that she violated them. Besides that is not a good thing and she needs to get some discipline. Yes, i know it's human nature but human nature MUST be controlled. AS far as the people who commented that she is JUST a child and should'nt be sent to juvie, yah she is a child and there is always consequences, so it is fair for her to go to juvie. The boys are children too you know. "

    Unforgiven wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:27 PM:

    " The facts are vague, but the truth is crystal clear. When you have a government controlled school system educating lewd behavior for minors, and a government controlled media doing the same while your parental rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights are being incrementally stripped away from American citizens, what do you expect. We have become the Unforgiven. "

    James M wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:25 PM:

    " Although 13 year olds are not adults, they are young adults, and are at an age where they should know right from wrong and are certainly not just children.

    It was right for them to take action, because when a boy does this it is a big deal, so when a girl does this it should be a big deal too. Likely this case will be dropped, but for now they should make the message clear that unauthorized sexual violation is a crime.


    "

    luvHB wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:19 PM:

    " When I was in High School a fun game we played was trying to "pants" each other. Pull someone's pants down so they were standing in their underwear. It was done to me and I am still somehow able to function. Now the kids would be in jail for a prank like that. "

    Pithywit wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:18 PM:

    " Perhaps more important than the question of whether or not the adolescent should have been arrested, is a far deeper query. What restrained children from behaving this way even as recently as twenty or thirty years ago? Could it have been a genuine sense of shame and/or a solid expectation that such scandalous behavior would have earned both the anger and swift physical discipline by their parents?
    We should expect as much when we teach children that they are only another form of animal, and forbid parents to spank them. "

    Rick Moran wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:17 PM:

    " I say that the police department is obviously overstaffed with too little real work to do. The good citizens should demand a reduction in police manpower and save the tax-payers some money. Also vote the police chief out of office. "

    Crazy Bill wrote on Jan 17, 2008 5:15 PM:

    " This demonstrates the cascading string of failures in society. Once upon a time the busdriver would have been expected to paddle misbehaving students. But of course that would result in a lawsuit. The other failures occurred in the parenting, teaching, the school, religion and other areas in the girl's life. The police are the only ones with no blame. "

    So you think ? ? ? wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:51 PM:

    " Public Safety ? ? ?

    Yeah, I'd like to make alcohol comsumption illegal.... And then arrest all of the cops and lawyers, and politicians who "break the law " ...
    HA HA HA HA HA "

    Ken wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:51 PM:

    " What p.c. b.s, "

    dad6562 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:47 PM:

    " I speak from experience. My son was suspended and prosecuted for placing his hand on his girlfriend's leg (over top of her jeans) in a classroom in front of the teacher. The teacher didn't complain but another jealous girl did. We took a plea to disorderly conduct so he doesn't have a sexual offense. They were both in 6th grade!

    Children this age don't have the rights of adults. He was questioned alone without parents and his admission to the "offense" could be used in court.

    What have we created?????? "

    Deb wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:42 PM:

    " If you guys that are thinking there is nothing wrong with this, had daughters that were groped by a boy, would it be so "cool" to you? I would HOPE not! Girl, boy, young, old. People need to keep their damned hands to themselves, unless it is MUTUAL. A girl doing this at 13 is going to be some big trouble when she gets older! I pity her parents! "

    Kevin B wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:38 PM:

    " Don't blame the police, if you don't like this outcome. The police enforce the law, that is created by lawmakers. Blame the lawmakers if you don't like it. Most of our wonderful lawmakers had a grand ol' time in a really free country (in the past). Now that they are old and gross, they want to control EVERY aspect of your life. We don't even have free speach. Think you do? Tomorrow, when you go to work, start calling people names and see what leagal trama befriends you. "

    ob wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:38 PM:

    " liberal political correctness gone amok. Pure and simple. "

    Samba wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:29 PM:

    " I am surprised a 13 year old boy would call the cops on a sexually agressive girl. The whole things sounds severely out of wack. Contemporary culture doesn't seem to have any idea what healthy sexuality is.One real problem is that adolescents aren't children or adults,yet legally must be treated as one or the other.Very bad idea. There should be a seperate category for teenagers.Treating an adolescent as a criminal often succeeds-in creating a lifelong criminal. "

    Donovan wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:28 PM:

    " I wish I could say I was amazed to read that even some PARENTS suggest that they would want the police involved should something like this happen with their children;it seems as though people want the government to take care of everything for them these days.Why aren't the parents taking care of this situation within their own families?That government intrudes on our lives to this extent bothers me, that Americans allow and support it, frightens me (for the future of my own 5 children).
    "

    meltdown wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:21 PM:

    " What is wrong with telling the parents and letting them work this out? Arrest is not an effective learning experience, it just ruins lives. I blame lawmakers for trying to get elected by being tougher on this and tougher on that. But all they're doing is setting precedent for the next guy to get even tougher because you can't defeat the get-tough guy without advocating getting tougher, can you? This non-commonsensical micro-management of our lives is ruining the republic. "

    Hey Leon wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:17 PM:

    " Last I checked I didn't think kids fell under the Amendments haha. Then again if they did why even bother contacting the parents?? "

    George wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:15 PM:

    " If it wwere the other way around, nobody would question the arrest of a boy doing the same to a couple girls. Fair is fair, sorry Glorie Steinam. "

    David Maxwell wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:14 PM:

    " Ridiculous, and to the adults that would fuel such nonsense. You are bored morons, perioid. Well, as the economy implodes you'll see less, and less of this silliness. This is the kind of stuff that fat, over indulgent cultures do. "

    Abigail wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:13 PM:

    " Give the kid a break. Disciplinary action like grounding her or other public disgrace type punishment makes sense. But to label her a felon at that age, no! In fact, if she broke into my house, I would talk to her parents, not involve the police. There must be a bit of room to make mistakes as one enters the adult world. "

    Walt wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:11 PM:

    " Back when I was growing up this sort of thing was handled a lot differently. The school bus driver would have turned them in to the Principal who would have called the girls parents who would have busted her butt and then driven her to school so that she would have gotten there just as the bell rang and picked her up just as school was letting out. The humiliation would have ended it! "

    el gato wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:06 PM:

    " Parents are such babies these days. You call the girl's parents personally and tell them what happened and let them handle it. The boys will not die or be scarred for life because a girl put her hand on them. I wonder what they have done to girls themselves. Grow up you parents that are overly protective! "

    Mark wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:03 PM:

    " Funny...we used to just paddle the kid and that took care of it. A lot cheaper...in fact, we should do the same for adults! "

    A Human On Earth wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:02 PM:

    " This child is mimicking the behavior demonstrated on regular television and does not know that this behavior is inappropriate. Girl or boy - Is a child in this situation really the offender?

    Schools don’t ask and don’t tell- and neither do most children unless directed.

    Institutional incarceration of a child for any purpose is not a deterrent. There is no rehab in jail – jail is punishment. Does the punishment fit the crime?
    "

    MyTwoCents wrote on Jan 17, 2008 4:00 PM:

    " The ONLY thing you have to do with this story is reverse the genders. If boys would get in trouble for touching girls inappropriately, so should girls for doing so to boys. Period. "

    Common Sense wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:58 PM:

    " What happened to common sense and fitting the punishment to the crime? This girl can be labeled a sex offender for life for this?

    How about letting her parents deal with this first!

    This country has lost all sense of proportion. "

    Dee wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:54 PM:

    " Thank Clinton for a hundred thousand morons with badges and nothing better to do. We have an epidemic of law enforcement in America. "

    john wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:51 PM:

    " Way to go America! "

    Russ wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:39 PM:

    " Its about time that the same crime, if it indeed was a crime, merits the same punishment regardless of the sex of the criminal. If the criminal was a child, then maybe the punishment might be less than if an adult, who should know better. A child needs to be educated as to the seriousness of the deed and maybe put on probation. An adult ought to know better in any case. I can't help but wonder how much our present liberal society and the television industry might have had to do with forming this young lady's thoughts? "

    fs3600 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:39 PM:

    " This girl needs to be taught better by her parents not arrested. Police have no common sense, they only follow orders from some bureaucrat no matter how stupid or wrong those orders are. "

    Donald wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:33 PM:

    " Don't you think a verbal warning would be more appropriate and then counseling before jail? Cops are getting to damn jail happy lately. Trying to turn the US into another England? OR China? Kids touch each other and if it is age appropriate then age appropriate discipline would be in order..not jail. "

    The truth wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:30 PM:

    " Arresting children is for the Nazis.
    Give em a spanking and send em home.
    done and done. "

    Billy Garfield Woody II wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:23 PM:

    " Unreal. Kids will be kids. Instead of arresting this 13 year old maybe they should instead try to figure out where she learned the behavior. "

    Randy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:18 PM:

    " Wow, amazing. If a boy can be put in jail for this, why not a girl?

    Because she's a girl? Sexist, isn't it? "

    BlueMax372 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:17 PM:

    " Must have been a slow day in Palmer. I guess the donut shop was closed. "

    Skateguy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:16 PM:

    " I got my first Paddlin when in the first grade, for peepin up a girls dress, that was standin up on the bus seat next to me. I was just curious. I had not been around Kids much till school. I had no idea it was wrong. But my mind was changed, with out cops being called. Oh, tha good ole days. ---I'm now 60. "

    Matt wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:15 PM:

    " Another example of government out of control and trying to micro-manage society. "

    William Crouse wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:12 PM:

    " If moral character education was being taught at home and in our public school
    system, incidents like this would be virually nonexistent. Based upon some of the comments I'm reading, us grown ups need to learn The Peaceful Solution so we can be a better example to our children. Look in to www.peacefulsolution.org for more information. "

    max wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:05 PM:

    " Or if the kid would even understand what the 5th amendment and miranda are. Another reason to make sure the parents take care of the problem as opposed to throwing a 13-year-old in jail (whether they are a boy or a girl) - something that will dubiously do any good. "

    roger Bova wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:04 PM:

    " Being a child is an excuse. and the crime is relevant. Soldiers follow orders, but police make decisions. about every situation they're engaged in. Det. Turney's "“Reverse the genders and if a boy..." comment illustrates why he made the decision he made. out of fear of not being even-handed in gender and age instead of using simple common sense. it's 13 kid. girl or boy, just give them a "scared straight" visit and EXPLAIN to them why what they did was wrong. cuffing her and throwing her into the back of a squad car would scar her for life. "

    patriotfirst wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:03 PM:

    " What are they going to do next, arrest a 6 year old for hugging his teacher, then calling sex abuse? Oh wait, that has already happened. What did the boys constitute as being sexually assaulted? It doesnt say what exactly the girl did, so therefore we should not be quick to judge. "

    woodspin wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:02 PM:

    " Why does this suprise us? The education system teaches children about sex as early as kindergarten they should be the ones in the stockades for causing the confusion amongst the young.
    Teachers unions should be held in contempt! "

    Brandon wrote on Jan 17, 2008 3:00 PM:

    " I had the same exact thoughts as Ben. What's funny about all this is that if the boys had acquiesced and then subsequently been caught or reported, the boys would be the ones in handcuffs for statutory rape even if the girl initiated contact. "

    Archie Washington wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:59 PM:

    " Release the child and fire the cop. Moronic arrest. "

    BC wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:59 PM:

    " This is absolutely ridiculous! What kind of Police State has liberalism brought us? I'm sorry...is this the Soviet Union in 1979???

    Give me a break. It's not a crime worth incarceration, you idiots! What has happened to this country...that we love to lock up our own (children) people? The chief of Police must be embarrassed by this one... "

    Vision-of-Liberty wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:58 PM:

    " I can not believe that the Police had to be involved in this situation. Picture in your mind what 'Andy Griffith' would have done. Cops these days, and it seems most citizens, want to act like Barney and throw everyone in jail at the slightest provocation. You as an individual need to respect other's right to liberty.
    "

    Mkay wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:58 PM:

    " Wow, this is political correctness at its worse. I remember when I was a kid and I got beat up by another kid, or vice versa, and my dad talking to the other kid's dad. Either I was punished by my dad or the other kid was by his.I didn't file assault charges against the other kid! What ever happen to one kid's parents talking to the other's, and resolving any issues between the two parties that way? Are we so reliant on the police and/or government that we can't deal with disputes between our children on our own? "

    Elizabeth wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:57 PM:

    " I just hope that the authorities are careful and thorough in their investigation. If this child is convicted of a sexual assault charge, she will be a sex offender and subject to the draconian and constitutionally questionable restrictions of the sex offender laws of her state including, by 2009, the Adam Walsh Act. We need to seriously re-examine the purpose of SO laws, including registration, whether they work,the impact of those laws on SOs and their families,and the costs to society both monetarily and in erosion of civil rights. Low level SOs should not be forced to register. "

    Jackie wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:56 PM:

    " To those who say this is just childs play...what if the boy was 5...would that be OK too ? People who do things like this usually dont care who they are asulting as long as the target is easy. "

    Brad wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:37 PM:

    " Aren't we supposed to be 'teaching' children in schools? Seems that the schools do not want to teach children how to behave appropriatley anymore - especially when it comes to 'offensive/inappropriate sexual touching'. But they will damn sure teach them at younger ages how to put a condom on a cucumber!

    Unless this was an ongoing issue that the school had addressed mutliple times previously, turning her into the police was a bad decision on the schools part.

    "

    Jason wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:36 PM:

    " While it is gratifying in a cruel way to see turnabout on the gneder relations war, there is a civil liberty aspect ignored by the article. Was her touching not desired by the boys? If she was agressing them, then what happened to her is somewhat appropriate - somewhat because full arrest is seldom appropriate for 13 year olds. "

    Crazy Bill wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:35 PM:

    " This demonstrates the cascading string of failures in society. Once upon a time the busdriver would have been expected to paddle misbehaving students. But of course that would result in a lawsuit. The other failures occurred in the parenting, teaching, the school, religion and other areas in the girl's life. The police are the only ones with no blame. "

    Chrstn wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:34 PM:

    " This is ridiculous. Our country is going to turn into a theocracy. Oh, wait, it already is! "

    professor wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:33 PM:

    " If it were not for 13-year olds touching each other, none of us would be here, because all our ancestors hundreds of years ago were considered adults at 13 and were getting married at that age. Just a little historical perspective! "

    help wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:33 PM:

    " This is a sympton of something deeper for the young girl. Counseling for all three parties is needed. "

    Not U thankfully wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:28 PM:

    " Ya know, theirs alot of dumb people in here.She's a kid for crying out loud.Can't even do kid things anymore.I hope you idiots that have kids that think this was the right thing,your feelings will change if it happens to you.And for all of you that think this was right,I bet your all liberals. "

    Cindy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:28 PM:

    " Oh, come on...this whole sexual harassment stuff is getting out of hand.
    They are kids.......... "

    AK. Reisdent wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:22 PM:

    " Good job palmer police!A child that is allowed to break the law,turns into an adult who will always expect to get away with whatever they do.maybe now she can get the help she obviously needs. "

    Erik wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:18 PM:

    " I believe that the officers did the right thing in making the arrest, because its true that if the shoe were on the other foot, the boys would have been arrested. Girls and boys should have to live by the same rules, and know they have to live by the same rules. If we dont make that clear, they just keep doing the same thing and getting away with it because they are "girls." Gender is not an excuse. The judicial system may be dumb, but the rules are there to protect everyone. Target the parentstoo... "

    Martin I wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:17 PM:

    " Lets see....A female adult teacher has sex with one of her students (who was a juvenile), and she gets off without any jail time. BUT a 13 year old girl touches another 13 year old boy and she gets arrested and thrown in jail...hmmm...yea, ok I see the reason in that. Sure it makes alot of sense. "

    about time wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:16 PM:

    " It's about time a girl gets punished for doing the same thing boys go to juvy for all the time. Do i think there is an oversensitivity on this issue? Yes. But it is not fair that if a boy does this the girl can instantly turn it on him b/c she's having a bad day, and he ends up in juvy. "

    CallMeIshmael wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:13 PM:

    " Get a life! "

    karen wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:12 PM:

    " Did anyone ever consider that this girl may have mental issues??? Anyone at that age who lacks impulse control to that degree needs to be evaluated by a professional. "

    hjames wrote on Jan 17, 2008 2:03 PM:

    "
    True, we don't know the facts. But even supposing a worst case scenario where she grabbed them suggests overreaction. The cops might have given her a scare or a ticket and then let the school deal with it. And no, the analogy that this is on a par with a home robbery, beating, or serious 'assualt' doesn't fly (pun intended). "

    Gunz wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:59 PM:

    " A girl touching a boy somewhere on his body. How stupid are these police? Where did the girl touch the boys that is the question. It sounds like some of these kids need to be taken to the woodshed. "

    Made the drudge report wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:58 PM:

    " Now the story has a national following with all the other news of the weird. Comments ought to really roll in now. "

    Larry wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:57 PM:

    " Unwelcome touching is wrong. But we have gotten radicalized beyond reason. The girl's behavior should simply have been reported to her parents and she punished by them. If she were to become a "repeat offender", then the school should take some disciplinary action. If that fails, then, yes, involve law enforcement. Because of PC we are becoming a police state and are criminalizing childish behaviors. I fear for our children and our future. Disgusted in PA. "

    Michael wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:57 PM:

    " It is a down right shame that some of the comments about this particular incident state that poltical correctness is involved because a girl is the perpetrator. Some wanted a girl to grope them when they were teens, but believe or not there are still decent people with a moral compass that do not want to be personally violated by someone just to fulfill their own personal lusts. Now how is that political correctness by punishing a person that clearly crossed the line? "

    Rob wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:54 PM:

    " How rediculous. Why even report the story if you can't give us enough information to understand the gravity of what happened. All you do is polarize your readers into those who see more than there is, or those who see less than there is. We don't know much beyond the fact that touching took place. The severity of it is not being shared. Next time find some meaningful news that people will understand instead of half stories that aren't shared because children under age are involved. "

    Shadowland wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:47 PM:

    " I think that comments should be based on facts, not on supposed evidence purported by a newspaper whose main focus in life is to sell newspapers. If not they would publish good news to. The girl 45 years ago would have had a spanking by her mom and restricted at home for a couple of months. The whole thing would have gone away, she would have learned her lesson and not have been marked for life.
    "

    Sparky wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:47 PM:

    " I'm so glad I'm not a younster anymore. I'm sure by today's standards, my friends and I would all be cuffed and in jail. This is insane. Common sense replaced with knee jerk reactions. Like the little girl with the steak knife, cutting her sandwich, arrested. This country has gone mad. Political correctness has created a nightmare for everyone. Watch what you say, do, feel and think...or the PC police will come for you, no matter what age! What a freekin pathetic joke. "

    Bob wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:45 PM:

    " If two boys fondled one girl on the bus they would be arrested. "

    Hondo Magoo wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:43 PM:

    " I have a female friend who has been teaching for 30 years. She says she cannot even rub a child's head sportingly on the recess yard, let alone give a comforting hug to a little 7 yr old who has just taken a tumble on the playground. Up for a game of tag? It's outlawed (touching involved); dodgeball and kickball? Nope (no competition allowed); boys and girls are MANDATED to play coed.. no separate but equal groupings allowed. She said the kids wander the playground aimlessly for 15 minutes with no direction... no wonder they are all X-Box zombies "

    FloydDaBarber wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:38 PM:

    " Chock it up to the liberal facism which has been indoctrinating us with these ridiculous boundaries for the past several decades. Political correctness is manifested by a nanny state which 'gently' guides us on what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. If you fail to agree, ve haff vays off making you comply, komrade. Remember, you alone cannot be trusted to impart values and guidance to your child. It takes a village. "

    E Simon wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:38 PM:

    " Some of you people are cheering, if I have this right, AGAINST the victims? You're cheering FOR the aggressor? Victims who rightly, and repeatedly, asked their aggressor to stop their actions?

    You people would have freed the Menendez boys. . .Sheesh.

    The VICTIMS of crime comes first. Period. Your hearts are bleeding all over my keyboard. . .

    I'll let you all in on a little secret- only CRIMINALS whine about their rights. Fifth amendment indeed. "

    Cherie wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:38 PM:

    " I can't believe this is what we've come to. Arresting children is absolutely absurd. Were the parents notified that this was going on? Did the school do anything to intervene? This is a matter that should be handled on the parent/school level. So, I say what a poor job the school and parents did and shame on them for having to have the police get involved. If the boys really wanted it to stop, I'm sure that they could have asserted themselves to make it stop. I'm thinking that the police and everyone involved didn't get the whole truth. "

    John Stein wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:37 PM:

    " It just goes to show where do you go to find fools stacked on top of each other?
    A Police Station! It's simply folks local level law enforcement has been attracting punks and bullies for years. I am not saying all cops are bad, they certainly are not. But when you run into a bad one, they are usually pretty bad.
    The punks who arrested a 13 year old girl need to be fired. There were other ways to handle this, locals there should contact the Mayor, the City Counsel and remind them they need you vote... "

    Timtan wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:34 PM:

    " God....what is wrong with you people thinking this girl should go to jail... SHE IS 13 years old!!!!!!!!!! I bet every one of you good tooshoos did something equally stupid when you were that age... Get her out of jail and give her a break! "

    Texan wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:32 PM:

    " She should be made to apologize to the boys in front of their parents. "

    Parent wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:25 PM:

    " No matter what age male or female, if someone is touhing another person in a way that makes them feel uneasy then that is a problem.... She is 13 and should know right from wrong. "

    Shootingiron wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:24 PM:

    " This is all nonsense. I agree with Doug. These are kids, and kids do kid stuff. All the girl needs if she acted inappropriately for some corrective action is a good butt whooping. Stand down, next case! "

    Equality wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:23 PM:

    " Simple question for all you folks that think this is crazy. Does the boy not have the same protection under the law that the girl has? I do not care who begged as kids or any of that crap. Girls beg too. If you were not so "lucky", tough crap. Simple question. Can you be honest and answer it? "

    Brian wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:20 PM:

    " NO age is NEVER an excuse for violating someone's rights Doug. What you stated is poorly thought out and makes no sense. While most of us (boys) would have loved to have a girl touching us when we were 13over or under our clothes, that does not mean EVERYONE does. those two 13 year old boys have every right to complain and law enforcement absolutely SHOULD uphold the law. They did the right thing. the girl broke the law and now she will have to be responsible for her actions. The major problem with "

    R.J. wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:20 PM:

    " Big Brother is going to make all sex illegal. You will have to have a permit to have children that will be created in a lab. Even sexual thought will be banned. Micro chip implants will be installed to punish any who have a sexual thought. All other animal life will be destroyed so that people don't wittness any sexual activity. Sex is nasty and evil, thus sayeth the moral supremists. "

    Sam wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:19 PM:

    " No still means no; if the boys asked her to stop then she committed a crime by persisting. "

    Luke wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:11 PM:

    " good grief. "

    Frank H wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:09 PM:

    " Read this opening paragraph:
    "A 13-year-old Sutton boy is being held in the Mat-Su Youth Facility after two girls said he sexually assaulted them on a school bus.

    The girls, also 13, of Sutton, said the boy touched them over their clothing, Palmer Police Det. Kelly Turney said. Police went to Palmer Junior Middle School Jan. 9 to investigate and ended up arresting the boy"

    Now, do you feel any differently about whom should be arrested?. "

    jeff wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:08 PM:

    " Ridiculous....perhaps a school matter,certainly not a legal one! "

    Gary wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:00 PM:

    " It makes a GREAT DEAL of difference whether it's a boy or girl involved. For a boy, it would have been a serious offense. For a girl, it's at most a minor one. Only someone with the mental disorder called "liberalism" would think otherwise. "

    Randy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:00 PM:

    " Just another example of getting the state involved in a situation which parents ought to take care of. It seems everyone wants to abidicate parenting to the state. Its sad, Hey Alaska, when did you turn into a bunch of wimps? Cant parent your own kids? Pathetic. "

    mark wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:49 PM:

    " all brains are gone, replaced by TV.
    we are all robots here.
    "

    Topnife wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:46 PM:

    " I thought schools were supposed to be about EDUCATION.
    A 13 year old, of either sex, who is behaving inappropriately in a sexual way, needs to be counseled and educated, not incarcerated!
    The schools arrogate to themselves the right to teach sex education, but fail to deal with the resulting experimentation. This girl knows TOO MUCH, but NOT ENOUGH.
    The shame here is not in the child's behavior, but in that of the adults who failed their responsibility.

    "

    Larry wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:45 PM:

    " United Police States of America "

    t. lindsay wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:44 PM:

    " Are they that bored and stupid. Granted I do not know all the facts, but jailing the girl is not the answer. Could they not have taken it to the school and have her suspended for a short time? Also, a little talking to about appropriate behavior. But arresting a child for that is down right stupid. "

    julie anne wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:43 PM:

    " Are we a police state now or what!? Such an arrest is outrageous! At that age, the girl just needs to be told by the school officials that such behaviour is inappropriate and if it happens again, THEN she may be arrested. To arrest her outright without a warning is inappropriate. "

    JetRx-Chugiak wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:43 PM:

    " This story made the Drudge Report. If the site isn't crashed by hits, everyone on the planet will suspect idiots are running the "show" in Palmer, AK. Perhaps "theft" of free WiFi from the "public" library will rear it's ugly head, again! That certianly will eliminate all doubt. "

    normal wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:42 PM:

    " isnt there a discipline system inside the school..when i was a kid, if you got in trouble on the bus, you got in trouble at school. where is the school principal, vice, counselor etc. I suppose the people in the community should be happy that the police dont have anything better to do. No crime = pick on the kids. Just like every other low crime area in the us of a. "

    Tom wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:40 PM:

    " People who question the arrest of the girl need to realize that the press release repeatedly pointed out that they were withholding a lot of information. We do not know all the facts.

    Most 13-year-old boys would find it humiliating to be touched by a girl in a public place, sexually, without permission, regardless of whether they are interested in sex in general.

    It does seem inconsistent, however, to charge someone who cannot legally consent to sex with a sexual offense. I think that such children need help, not harsh judgment. "

    Amazed At Stupidity wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:37 PM:

    " Incarcerate a kid? What happened to the time when one parent would call another parent and they'd sort it out themselves? Now you want a 13-year-old girl in jail? A thirteen-year-old girl is a 'danger to the public safety'? Don't you idiots raise your own kids anymore, cops have to deliver parental consequences (which aren't parental anymore, they're much more serious) for you? I-di-ots. "

    Holden wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:35 PM:

    " We do not know all of the details. We don't know whether she should or should not have been arrested because we lack those details as specifically stated in the article. The girl could have been violent in her actions or purely by accident and this is all a misunderstanding. But until then I trust the officers decision to bring her in on charges (which isn't saying she's guilty this happens daily folks) but if the evidence shows something happened and she was at fault bring her in for questioning and let her have a lawyer as per her rights. "

    normal wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:28 PM:

    " isnt there a discipline system inside the school..when i was a kid, if you got in trouble on the bus, you got in trouble at school. where is the school principal, vice, counselor etc. I suppose the people in the community should be happy that the police dont have anything better to do. No crime = pick on the kids. Just like every other low crime area in the us of a. "

    Ron from Maine wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:27 PM:

    " We're cancelling our trip to Alaska. We have 6 girls, all under the age of 17. Don't want any of them arrested. Think we'll go South instead. Didn't know Alaska was so lillie, white, and pure!! "

    Yankee wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:23 PM:

    " What are y'all smokin' up north there? "

    Bill from Virginia wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:21 PM:

    " This is absurd! It proves (if there was any doubt) that common sense is a very uncommon virtue among the gestapo-like police, the indoctrination centers trying to look like schools and the "powers that be" in general. Instead of letting kids be kids they are more interested in raising the next generation of sheeple to bow and scrape before the New World Order! "

    Willow resident wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:21 PM:

    " I support the police decision. They must be gender-neutral. The child must learn that there are boundaries that must be respected. She can't be allowed to do something that would get a boy in trouble. "

    Fernao wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:21 PM:

    " Another example of assuming that government officials will use any semblance common sense. People wake "common sense" and "governemt" is an oxymoron "

    olyrover wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:16 PM:

    " What kind of charges do they bring against a kid for punching another kid in the nose these days? Felonious assault? "

    MGR wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:15 PM:

    " First, IF a juvenile commits a criminal act, they NEED to be arrested/detained/incarcerrated based upon the evidence, which was appropriate in this case.

    For those who are into 'PC', let me ask you this question: What would YOU want the cops to do IF your 13 year old son was the victim of this 'Lolita'? You'd be demanding that that cop do his/her job! Great job, Officer!!! "

    Glenn wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:13 PM:

    " Looks like Alaska has idiot law enfarcement too. "

    Ignatz Horowitz wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:12 PM:

    " Ah, those spouting off, thinking they know they law. You know squat. Passing judgment from a tabloid article, without knowing the facts. Typical. But you have the right to blow a bunch of hot air, idiotic as it may sound. "

    LL in La wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:11 PM:

    " But it does say "in this case the facts justified incarcerating the girl." Seems assault may be the modus operandi rather than a mere touch. "

    Agrees with Enforcement wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:11 PM:

    " I work with teenage boys that have committed offenses. Regardless of gender, they need counseling to prevent it from happening again. Almost every time, these kids have been abused and are repeating the cycle. The only way to break the pattern is to intercede. "

    Leon... wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:06 PM:

    " In the state of ALaska you have to notify parent or guardian before interviewing minors so stop wondering! "

    Marie wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:06 PM:

    " She's only thirteen. She's still a minor. How can you arrest a minor? Ridiculous! Just ridiculous! And it's touching over clothing. It's so minor an offense. Unbelievable! "

    LISA wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:05 PM:

    " This is so stupid!! Why arrest her?? Why not just scold the child and contact the parents and scold them too for not teaching the girl right from wrong? She should at least be let off with a stearn warning first. "

    Goose-Gander wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:04 PM:

    " Kids will be kids. It's always been that way. But as it stands today, boys will usually get the rap for their off beat and/or aggressive sexual curiosity, while girls acting in the same or a similar fashion, generally skate away Scot free. And, I’d like to say, as the parent of both (great but typical) boys & girls, if EVERY boy reported ALL the inappropriate behavior of girls to the police & other authorities, perhaps over time some of this way over the top "political correct" nonsense would begin to stop.
    "

    Andy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:02 PM:

    " People should be thanking the Police for getting this dangerous criminal off the streets. She might be chasing boys too! That could end up with someone getting a skinned knee or stubbed toe, I hear that's attempted murder in Alaska.

    Think of the children, oh why won't anyone think of the children! "

    Socially Pervasive wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:01 PM:

    " From that aspect when I look at this picture, I see a 13 year old girl, mentally immature enough not to make the right decisions, and confused about the world around her.

    What a lot of the adults do not understand is that children necessarily do not think about or understand the same rules that we do.

    Our goal should be to teach them what they are. There should be clear standards for incarceration, and that has not been followed here. "

    Smart Smart Smart wrote on Jan 17, 2008 12:01 PM:

    " To Dumb, Dumb, Dumb and the rest of you Dummies:

    If a 13-year old boy inappropriately touched a 13-year old girl, you'd be yelling if they didn't arrest him! "

    anonymous wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:56 AM:

    " Something I would like to know is why no bail has been set. Is she just rotting in jail without being convicted of a crime? "

    Conservo wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:56 AM:

    " What happened to having parents deal with this activity first. Drag the authorities in if it remains unresolved. "

    TDawg wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:50 AM:

    " I wonder if she will have to live with the "Sexual Predator" label for the rest of her life if convicted for touching a child inappropriately. I think the boys will probably end up surviving this "tramatic" event better than she will. "

    rowdy wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:48 AM:

    " alaska; home of corrupt politicians and stupid fools. your state is as backward as the rest of the bible thumping red states. bridge to nowhere. "

    BakeShop wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:47 AM:

    " The ideas and thoughts to do such a thing come from where? The stuff on the Internet today gives young children, even in remote areas, wrong ideas about sexuality. Where are her parents on this? She's 13, not grown up, but certainly savvy enough to this type of action, because of...? That's the question and in it the answer to this type of problem. Parents? Internet? Not but a stand to retake the important goodness we, the children, should all grow up with as a natural right. "

    marc wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:46 AM:

    " I suppose if she had kissed them she would be facing a life-sentence!!!!Whatever happened to parents speaking with other parents and getting an apology for inappropriate behavior? The girl could then be punished by her parents, the boys would have an apology, no one would be in jail and taxpayer money wouldn't be wasted on such trivial crap. "

    Mom wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:43 AM:

    " The boys were disturbed enough about it to report it. That says it must have been pretty bad. I don't see why she should be allowed to assault people just because she is 13. Don't the boys have a right not to be touched when and where they don't want to be touched? I guess they have no rights because she's only 13! "

    Carney wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:43 AM:

    " "But police, he said, are gender-blind."

    Meaning they're also blind to common sense.

    “Reverse the genders [...] can you imagine the outcry there would be?”

    Yes, but so what? Males and females are DIFFERENT. The double standard exists for real-world biological reasons.

    For starters, men have several times women's testosterone levels. That's why they're far more aggressive.

    A girl fooling around on the bus is far less sinister than boys forcing themselves on a girl.

    And we all know it. The already flawed "civil rights" paradigm doesn't work here. "

    19kilo wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:43 AM:

    " war on terror, war on drugs, war on sex,
    war on freedom is being fought right now and we the people are losing we are all going to be in jail for some sort of made up crime!

    JUST THINK IF ONLY THE MAYFLOWER HAD SUNK NO PURITANS!
    living is a crime? being a natural sexual being is feloneous crime? esp when you are a child and this natural Exploratory feeling is at it highest?

    Parental supervision and teaching what is it right and wrong is whats missing but ohwell--welcome to george W bush'samerikkka "

    Ken M wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:37 AM:

    " Whether or not you or I when we were 13 would have wanted to be touched is completely off the point. This is not a case of political correctness gone too far either. "No" means "no" and "stop" means "stop". What gender is doing what is meaningless here. Someone forced themselves sexually on someone else in spite of their objections. Now it's in the hands of the police, as it perhaps should be. "

    dc wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:36 AM:

    " frontiersman made the Drudgereport!! Congrats! This may be a first? "

    Groove wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:35 AM:

    " Simple Leon wonders if the little girl was Marandized and had her parents show up before she is questioned. Liberal simpleton. She probably heard it 11 times before lunch. What possible difference does it make anyway? Flakes and nuts like Leon will make sure that she is made out to be the victim.
    If those 13 year old boys try the same thing (OKed by the Leons of the world) watch how fast their little butts fly into the slammer when they repay the compliment. "

    tit-4-tat wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:32 AM:

    " goose and gander.... equality is equality

    boys and girls, girls and girls, boys and boys. doesn't matter.

    sexual assault is sexual assault.

    That would be UN-WANTED sexual contact. And since the boys complained, then it must have been UN-WANTED.



    "

    Piper Cub wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:32 AM:

    " Just ask yourself if you would want this handled this way if it was your kid. If you are honest, you'd be horrified that this was handled with such a blunt force instrument (cops).
    "

    Doug wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:21 AM:

    " Joseph says "Saying they are children is not an excuse.."

    Sorry Joseph, it IS an excuse. At least it always was until the recent spate of moronic arrests of children for doing childish things. Bet you were just a perfect kid. huh Joe? Where will this nonsense stop? Law enforcement authorities are suppposed tp know better than to allow themselves to be infected by politically correct hysteria. "

    mjhlaw wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:21 AM:

    " The cavalier attitude some of the commenters here take toward depriving fellow citizens of their liberty is startling. "Seriuosly" (sic), as you say, if we don't know about the case, we shouldn't comment. This includes your ignorant willingness to call what this girl did a "crime" on nothing more than a news article, which we know does not include all of the facts. Even if this CHILD did something wrong, she should not be incarcerated without a trial, and without proving that the allegations against her are true. That antiquated notion of "innocent until proven guilty"... "

    BF wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:18 AM:

    " Yes, she's a child. But, a child is still capable of inappropriate and illegal actions, just like an adult. If, under investigation, there is substantial enough evidence to convict her, than she needs to pay for her actions. Cause and effect; a lesson all children should learn. "

    2plus2 wrote on Jan 17, 2008 11:17 AM:

    " Ridiculous! Call the cops call the cops!! Our country has lost it's collective mind. "

    Valley Parent wrote on Jan 17, 2008 10:58 AM:

    " If my boys were touched inappropiatly by another child, I would want the police to take action. No matter the age or gender.
    Good Job Officers!! "

    Joseph wrote on Jan 17, 2008 8:28 AM:

    " Saying they are children is not an excuse, if a 13 year old broke into your home and stole from you I would imagine you would want results. The nature of the crime is not what is important, taking the steps to ensure it never happens again is, bottom line.

    "

    Seriuosly wrote on Jan 17, 2008 1:24 AM:

    " Unless you personally know about this case dont comment! This girl should have been taken care of long ago when this first started happening! If it had been a boy everyone woulg be saying good job. Being female is not a good enough reason to get away with such a crime. Children should be able to rely on adults to protect them when things like this happen..Thank you Palmer Police! "

    Dumb Dumb Dumb wrote on Jan 16, 2008 5:29 PM:

    " Being vague about it. These are children! Your political correctness is dumb. Stupid. Personally, I think the only solution now is to fire the stupid police, and anyone else who thought that this felony arrest was a good idea. The judicial system is real messed up. This idiotic arrest proves it. I don't know how the law enforcement, district attorney, and school officials can sleep at night. Detective Tunney, perhaps you could find work as a noon duty at one of the local schools and monitor kids touching each other. "

    leon wrote on Jan 16, 2008 4:05 PM:

    " got to wonder if the parents were notified and if the childs 5th amendments rights were invoked, and if said child was notified of these inherent rights before they proceeded. "

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