Boy to bypass assault charge for hickey
When I was a kid, this would have gotten a boy a pat on the back and a wink from all the adult men in the neighborhood....
FORT WORTH -- A 13-year-old boy accused of giving a female classmate an unwanted hickey is one public apology away from getting his assault case dismissed.
The boy's mother called the girl's father last weekend to see whether the two families could settle the matter. A citation for assault by contact carries a fine of almost $300 if the Richland Hills boy is convicted in municipal court.
Both families agreed the punishment was too harsh, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported today. The girl's father, Steven Marcuse, said he would drop the charge if the boy wrote an apology and said he was sorry in front of the class.
"Children need to be taught," he said. "They don't need to be issued a citation and made a criminal and dragged through court."
The boy is accused of giving the girl a hickey in a Richland Middle School hallway in September. Their names are not being used because of their ages.
Of course, left unstated in this scenario is whether or not the girl was a willing participant in the dispensing of the hickey. Regardless, did this sordid scenario need to be dragged into the court system? Time was when families would find a way to settle things without the DA being involved.
While not just make the kid where a scarlet letter and be done with it??
