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Five year old autistic boy accused of sexual activities by school

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Whether a child is autistic or not, I don’t think this is a sexual act. As far as I can remember this was pretty normal behavior at that age. Kids express their affection in physical ways. And I’d think a hug and a kiss are fairly innocuous for a kid that age, regardless of neurology.
 
Graphin said:
5-year-old autistic boy 'put on record as sex offender' by school for hugging classmate and kissing another on the cheek
Kinda hard to make out what's happening -
5 year old autistic boy was reported as a sex offender for a hug and a kiss, appearantly the teachers didn't really try to explain to the boy what's wrong with it apart from it being forbidden, or listen to the childs doctor?
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For crying out loud!

He's 5 years old and they're putting him on a sex offenders register for giving one classmate a hug and giving another a kiss on the cheek?!

Bolletje nails it - these are both things that kids do when they display affection. I had a thing when I was in primary school when I used to pretend to try and kiss other kids because I thought it was funny (I was 4/5 years old); the teachers told me off and explained why I shouldn't do it and that was it.
When I was working on a voluntary basis, I once hugged a female colleague out of empathy because she had gotten upset and was crying in the office; I was talked to about it by my manager the next day and while she empathised with my reason why, she did still explain that what I did had confused/concerned my colleague and so I made sure not to do it again - the next time just giving her some tissues if she got upset again.
There was no big hoo-haa about it; both situations were approached with common sense with lessons learnt and followed afterwards.

The fact they're labelling this 5 year old as a "sexual predator" and putting him on a sex offenders list instead of just explaining to him why it's not appropriate isn't just wrong, it's despicable and disgusting!
If he'd gone into the toilet and forced himself upon another student despite their age (I have heard a story about that happening before at a primary school but can't find the story at the moment) then I could at least understand it been a major concern, but this is a big case of "the punishment doesn't fit the crime" as this teacher's overreaction will likely now affect him for the rest of his life.
 
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rofl, an idiot at my school (a teacher, no less) tried to say something similar about me when i was in Kindergarten or Grade 1. The oh so called travesty that they didn't like? I kissed a girl I liked on the cheek. :eek: Scandalous, i know.
 
I remember my two best male friends kissing me on the cheek in kindergarten when it was my birthday. I was embarrassed and thought it was icky because ew boys and ew kisses, but in retrospect it was just a super sweet gesture and in no way any kind of assault.
 
When I was in elementary school I was accused of trying to look up girls skirts at lunch and all I was doing was trying to pick up the fork I dropped!
 
(sigh ) what more can say really ? There goes that kids future down the drain :(

all we can hope is that the DCS have some cind of working brain cells them self and they seems to have given him the chance of starting in a special education services utliest i give them that much.
 
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AGXStarseed said:
For crying out loud!

He's 5 years old and they're putting him on a sex offenders register for giving one classmate a hug and giving another a kiss on the cheek?!

Bolletje nails it - these are both things that kids do when they display affection. I had a thing when I was in primary school when I used to pretend to try and kiss other kids because I thought it was funny (I was 4/5 years old); the teachers told me off and explained why I shouldn't do it and that was it.
When I was working on a voluntary basis, I once hugged a female colleague out of empathy because she had gotten upset and was crying in the office; I was talked to about it by my manager the next day and while he empathized with my reason why, he did still explain that what I did had confused/concerned my colleague and so I made sure not to do it again - the next time just giving her some tissues if she got upset again.
There was no big hoo-haa about it; both situations were approached with common sense with lessons learnt and followed afterwards.

The fact they're labelling this 5 year old as a "sexual predator" and putting him on a sex offenders list instead of just explaining to him why it's not appropriate isn't just wrong, it's despicable and disgusting!
If he'd gone into the toilet and forced himself upon another student despite their age (I have heard a story about that happening before at a primary school but can't find the story at the moment) then I could at least understand it been a major concern, but this is a big case of "the punishment doesn't fit the crime" as this teacher's overreaction will likely now affect him for the rest of his life.
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its the influence of the me too movement, supposedly any actress !!!!!!!can accuse people and they are guilty ,so now its ‘oh no we could be seen as aiding sexual assault ‘and most importantly sued
 
Parents need to get a damn good lawyer, sue the teacher and school district (but willing to settle out of court) and petition to have the charge removed from his record.

I always hear how Americans are "too litigious" but sometimes that's the only remedy.
 
Sarah S said:
(sigh ) what more can say really ? There goes that kids future down the drain :(

all we can hope is that the DCS have some cind of working brain cells them self and they seems to have given him the chance of starting in a special education services utliest i give them that much.
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there is hope, an Australian actor has been cleared of a charge and I think most actors are neuro divergent , Admittedly his life has been indescribable for the last two -three years but he is not wasting time .
 
Of course, this is only a problem because the child is Autistic?

At my school a kid cornered a girl and touched her vagina in the showers after PE. Nothing happened. These were 10 year olds. I'm guessing that since we are putting 5 year olds on sex offender lists for kissing and hugging that his heritage had something to do with it.
 
Streetwise said:
its the influence of the me too movement, supposedly any actress !!!!!!!can accuse people and they are guilty ,so now its ‘oh no we could be seen as aiding sexual assault ‘and most importantly sued
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Big yikes with that one.
 
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I’ve nannied for kids who go to schools where no touching is strictly enforced. I appreciate that it is being taken more seriously. I was inappropriately touched by classmates in elementary school at around age 6 and in middle school around age 11 - I distinctly remember feeling very violated each time and the teachers didn’t do a thing. Upon looking into this more there appears to be an update from the school that they never disciplined the boy directly and that there were never plans to put anything on his permanent record. Also apparently there was more to the story that prompted the concern and it didn’t have to do with the kiss and hug but they said due to privacy laws they can’t disclose it. I know it can be difficult with an autistic child but if it were my daughter, knowing how I felt about it at 6, I’d want this to be taken seriously and not brushed off. It’s not that he’s perverted of course but I do think clear boundaries taught early are a good idea. It sets the stage for respect.
 
100skerls said:
Upon looking into this more there appears to be an update from the school that they never disciplined the boy directly and that there were never plans to put anything on his permanent record. Also apparently there was more to the story that prompted the concern and it didn’t have to do with the kiss and hug but they said due to privacy laws they can’t disclose it.

I know it can be difficult with an autistic child but if it were my daughter, knowing how I felt about it at 6, I’d want this to be taken seriously and not brushed off. It’s not that he’s perverted of course but I do think clear boundaries taught early are a good idea. It sets the stage for respect.
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Given this new info i have to say im glad if this is in fact the truth . as i also said im glad that this was dealt with as it apparently has been and not as you say just being brushed under the rug. and in no way do i say us girls need to just fake it as boys will be boys or he´s 5 and also autistic whats the harm . and i agree that he needs to be toght that this is not the way we do things and most defently boundaries and its vital he needs to learn this now when young or things would go very wrong in the future.what i objected of was that the article claimed that a 5 year old autistic on top of that boy were to be permanently marked as a sex offender thats all.Thank god that seems to not be the case
 
Different cultures act differently to friends and happiness over something.
I see grown men from other countries when they greet hug or kiss on the cheeks.
Is America going to come to the point of a no touch policy?

I can't see hugging someone maybe out of happiness or a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye or
thank you being any issue.
Of course not knowing the exact circumstances we can't judge.
But, at that age it doesn't sound like a sexual attack.
Most autistics don't even want touch.
But, the circumstances come into play and if the kids were upset over it the teachers should explain
to him why.
Concern of marking him for life with a title like that just handed out at random doesn't sound right.
Glad to hear they weren't giving him a life time mark on his record.
The privacy issue leaves things unsaid and could be anything from names to circumstances.
 
I've had difficulty piecing together what actually happened due to varying reports, but what seemed consistent to me: Nobody said that the hug wasn't consensual with the other kid, the rules were cited as the problem.
 
SusanLR said:
Different cultures act differently to friends and happiness over something.
I see grown men from other countries when they greet hug or kiss on the cheeks.
Is America going to come to the point of a no touch policy?

I can't see hugging someone maybe out of happiness or a kiss on the cheek as a goodbye or
thank you being any issue.
Of course not knowing the exact circumstances we can't judge.
But, at that age it doesn't sound like a sexual attack.
Most autistics don't even want touch.
But, the circumstances come into play and if the kids were upset over it the teachers should explain
to him why.
Concern of marking him for life with a title like that just handed out at random doesn't sound right.
Glad to hear they weren't giving him a life time mark on his record.
The privacy issue leaves things unsaid and could be anything from names to circumstances.
Click to expand...
social workers in the UK aren’t allowed to ask for a black coffee as it seen as offensive to say the word black ,Thank God I never get a job like that ,I would permanently be in court .
I can just about speak English in the right order remembering what is wrong wouldn’t happen .
 
Streetwise said:
its the influence of the me too movement, supposedly any actress !!!!!!!can accuse people and they are guilty ,so now its ‘oh no we could be seen as aiding sexual assault ‘and most importantly sued
Click to expand...

100skerls said:
Big yikes with that one.
Click to expand...

Tell me about it. I've heard that there are guys now who go out of their way to avoid/limit contact with women in their work environment - to the point where any meetings between them and women are attended by a third party to protect them from if their female colleagues make false allegations.
 
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AGXStarseed said:
Tell me about it. I've heard that there are guys now who go out of their way to avoid/limit contact with women in their work environment - to the point where any meetings between them and women are attended by a third party to protect them from if their female colleagues make false allegations.
Click to expand...
It’s what frightens me, now you don’t know what to say to what !I thought the social worker I was talking to was joking ,when she said, she can’t ask for black coffee ,then I thought again ,I still keep thinking it’s wrong, I keep thinking she’s just misheard but then I think litigation ,litigious society what do you describe it as ,if you said very dark brown would you be racist ,so when she had to visit people of different ethnicities how do you talk to them ,would there be a phone call afterwards saying they are suing the council and ,she comes from a generation ,when all the was ,was white coffee and black coffee and all you actually said was coffee with milk or black coffee ,how do you describe black coffee if it’s not black and not sound anally retentive.
It’s worse because I’m the only autistic person in my street now you don’t know what to say to children , there are courses now for actors, initiated by a company in England ,to show them how much they can touch another actor ,it feels utterly bizarre saying that .
 
What age can juveniles be designated as sex offenders?....

"...requirements placed on juveniles under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) are among the most controversial of the Act. SORNA is a portion of the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act, signed into law in 2006... SORNA requires juveniles at least 14 years of age adjudicated delinquent for a crime comparable to or more severe than an aggravated sexual abuse crime as defined in federal law to register as sex offenders."
http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-...nile-sex-offender-registration-and-sorna.aspx


https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tbi/documents/Definitions of Tennessee Sexual Offenses and Violent Sexual Offenses.pdf
 
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