Clinton third-grader strip-searched after being accused of stealing

[John F Kennedy III]

Clinton third-grader strip-searched after being accused of stealing

WRAL
June 19, 2012

CLINTON, N.C. — The mother of a Clinton third-grader says a school administrator went too far when she strip-searched her child after accusations that he stole from another student.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce6ihWDvtrE&feature=player_detailpage

Clarinda Cox says her 10-year-old son, Justin, a student at Union Elementary School, was ordered to take off everything but his T-shirt and boxer shorts on June 1 after a girl accused him of taking $20.

Justin told his mother that a girl dropped the money in the cafeteria and that he picked it up and gave it back to her, Cox says.

"If I felt he needed to be searched, I would have brought him into the bathroom," she said Monday. "You could have had a witness in the bathroom with me. I would have searched my son."

The assistant principal, Teresa Holmes, says in a statement that several other students, as well as two teachers, told her that the money was missing and that they had seen Justin dive under the lunchroom table for it.

Holmes, a 28-year educator, says she told Justin that, if he had the money, he should return it to the girl or that she would have to search him.

"Justin said that he did not have the money and to ‘search me,’" Holmes said, adding that the boy, over the course of the school year, had lied many times.

When she did not find the money on Justin, she said, she hugged him, apologized and talked to him about the importance of having a good reputation.

The money was "miraculously" found on the floor, Holmes said, adding that a teacher said it was not there before the search.

"Any staff member who has ever worked with me knows that I care for my students and that even when I have to discipline them, I love them," she said.

Cox says she is not only upset about her son being searched but also that no one notified her about it. She said she found out about it from Justin when he came home from school that day upset.

"I was furious," she said.

Sampson County Schools spokeswoman Susan Warren says Cox should have been informed about the search but that Holmes did nothing wrong and that a male janitor was present for the search.

"The assistant principal was within her legal authority, her legal right, to do the search," Warren said. "She may have been overzealous in her actions."

Cox says that, with or without an apology, her son was violated.

"She came up to him and rubbed her fingers around inside of his underwear," Cox said. "If that isn't excessively intrusive, I don't know what is."

[asurfaholic]

Wow.. wtf.

Wtf

Wtf

[John F Kennedy III]

Wow.. wtf.

Wtf

Wtf

That was my reaction. Teresa Holmes should be arrested and imprisoned for child molestation.

[Kylie]

Sounds like Ms. Holmes will have a fantastic career as a TSA agent when her job as school adminstrator is terminated.

I'm not being sarcastic. Fuck this shit. Don't touch my kids.

[QuickZ06]

I want "Dirty Mike and the boys" to take care of this sick principle.

[asurfaholic]

A male janitor was there and witnessed this, and THAT makes it ok?? I must be dreaming...

A janitor?

[Kylie]

A male janitor was there and witnessed this, and THAT makes it ok?? I must be dreaming...

A janitor?



I have talked to my kids about all kinds of situations like this.

In this kind of instance, they have the liberty to use whatever colorful language they choose as long as the word "no" is at the end of the sentence.

Don't you fucking touch my kids.

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Before watching the vid, I was thinking, "Welcome new patriots!"

fucking, fuck. Mom understands it's ok if it were about drugs or weapons, but not $20.

"School district officials were out of town and not available to go on camera."

lol. What the fuck ever. Talk to them when they get back. They can't pretend to be out of town forever. And if they are, then that's a start.

[John F Kennedy III]

This is just crazy.

[asurfaholic]

That was my reaction. Teresa Holmes should be arrested and imprisoned for child molestation.

This is exactly what needs to happen. I want to know where this so called "legal authority" came from? If an officer arrests a minor, he is not even allowed to TALK to the minor until the parents are notified and present. They can't TALK to the kid.

And a vice principle has the "legal authority" to strip search a 3rd grader, with a stranger (JANITOR??? WTF??) present?

There is no excuse.

There are alot of really sick stories that we post and discuss here on RPF, this one really takes the cake. What makes this hit home even more is Clinton isnt far from where I am, and my wife's sister used to work at that school. As a 3rd grade teacher. Will be hearing from her tomorrow.

[soulcyon]

pat down, fine... but strip search, really now?

[asurfaholic]

pat down, fine... but strip search, really now?

Pat down a 3rd grader? For paper money???

You serious?

[John F Kennedy III]

This is exactly what needs to happen. I want to know where this so called "legal authority" came from? If an officer arrests a minor, he is not even allowed to TALK to the minor until the parents are notified and present. They can't TALK to the kid.

And a vice principle has the "legal authority" to strip search a 3rd grader, with a stranger (JANITOR??? WTF??) present?

There is no excuse.

There are alot of really sick stories that we post and discuss here on RPF, this one really takes the cake. What makes this hit home even more is Clinton isnt far from where I am, and my wife's sister used to work at that school. As a 3rd grade teacher. Will be hearing from her tomorrow.

Oh wow.

[DerailingDaTrain]

It's happened before but it was a middle school last time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safford_Unified_School_District_v._Redding

Messed up but that's the norm in schools today. It wasn't too long ago that I remember my whole class being told to leave our bags in the classroom and go out in the hall while dogs sniffed everything (it happened at least once a month). Here's the case that started it all:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_v._T._L._O.

[Weston White]

“The assistant principal was within her legal authority, her legal right, to do the search,” Warren said.

Negative, the only legal authority any school staff has is to separate and place the involved students in a secure location and notify senior school staff, so that they can promptly contact the parents of the victimized student in order to inform them of the incident and determine if those parents would like to file a crime report with their local law enforcement agency, and if so, then make such arrangements by contacting their police/sheriff office (or otherwise their assigned school resource officer-SRO), and also to notify the parents of the suspected juvenile so as to also inform them of the incident, and then complete whatever school related paperwork in accordance to their school district policy at their own leisure.

School personnel are not law enforcement; they need to permanently cease the practice of attempting to function in that role. By otherwise doing so, they only cause confusion and mistrust on the part of the parents, children, and relative community.

[DerailingDaTrain]

Negative, the only legal authority any school staff has is to separate and place the involved students in a secure location and notify senior school staff, so that they can promptly contact the parents of the victimized student in order to inform them of the incident and determine if those parents would like to file a crime report with their local law enforcement agency, and if so, then make such arrangements by contacting their police/sheriff office (or otherwise their assigned school resource officer-SRO), and also to notify the parents of the suspected juvenile so as to also inform them of the incident, and then complete whatever school related paperwork in accordance to their school district policy at their own leisure.

School personnel are not law enforcement; they need to permanently cease the practice of attempting to function in that role. By otherwise doing so, they only cause confusion and mistrust on the part of the parents, children, and relative community.

It's sad but the Supreme Court says otherwise:


The Fourth Amendment only protects against intrusions upon legitimate expectations of privacy. Central to the Court's analysis in this case was the fact that the "subjects of the policy are (1) children, who (2) have been committed to the temporary custody of the State as schoolmaster." The schools act in loco parentis to the children, and have "such a portion of the power of the parent committed to his charge... as may be necessary to answer the purposes for which he was employed." Therefore, in the public school context, the reasonableness inquiry "cannot disregard the schools' custodial and tutelary responsibility for children." Public schools require students to undergo vaccinations, vision, hearing, and dermatological screenings, and other examinations. Thus, public school students have a lesser expectation of privacy than members of the general public.

[PaulConventionWV]

Before watching the vid, I was thinking, "Welcome new patriots!"

fucking, fuck. Mom understands it's ok if it were about drugs or weapons, but not $20.

"School district officials were out of town and not available to go on camera."

lol. What the fuck ever. Talk to them when they get back. They can't pretend to be out of town forever. And if they are, then that's a start.

These events rarely ever make converts out of anyone in an instant. Long held beliefs are not broken by one perceived wrong-doing.

[seraphson]

So, how bout' that Constitution...

[John F Kennedy III]

So, how bout' that Constitution...

What's a Constitution?

[Weston White]

It's sad but the Supreme Court says otherwise:

Yes, a well made point, to be argued.

Where the Court’s view logically fails though is that schools are intended to function responsibly only within a parentally bestowed supervision, guardianship, or caretaker capacity (a grant of authority that is both temporary and revocable), so being pertinent only to the general wellbeing, safety, and continued education of every student enrolled within whatever classification of school, and not, ever under a parentally authoritative capacity, for such is reserved as a right solely belonging individually to the child’s parents; parents might even object to school staff attempting to act in a mentoring or roll-model capacity, e.g., expressing their own religious expectations upon a child, their own social perceptions, etc. For example, a school is first required to obtain permission that is only to be granted by the individual parents of their students, prior to permitting those students to participate in most of those things listed by the Court, such as photographs, vaccinations, fieldtrips, sport events, plays, after-school activities and programs, etc.

Although, in cases where a child has not objected to the demands of an otherwise unjust enforcement action taken by school staff, such as detainment, searching of their person, or confiscation of their property, there is really no longer a valid complaint remaining. However, if parents were actually made aware of such a point-of-view, so being held in common law, there would certainly be a massive outcry against such pseudo-transference of their parental authority to the state.

Moreover, it is the individual parents who are ultimately responsible for all aspects of their children until the age of majority has been reached (or otherwise the child, when age sixteen or older, has been emancipated by the courts) an authority which they cannot surrender at their delight or convenience.

The Court was clearly steamrolling forward the agenda of socialistic statism (i.e., progressivism) over that of the individual rights and privacies that inherently belong to the family unit.

School staff do not possess more power than law enforcement officials (although would be justified serving in their own individual rights, such as by citizen’s arrest, for example), while neither may school staff act in a law enforcement capacity, render legal advice or aid, engage in legal actions, or otherwise make public records. Regardless, as to whatever is to be the case, just because one is a juvenile, in attendance at a school does not subjugate them to the piecemeal surrendering of individual protections guaranteed to them as their birthright.

[alucard13mmfmj]

At first I thought Mrs. Secretary of the USA Clinton striped searched a boy.