A Lesson Learned

Today my son came home from school for lunch and asked me where the newspaper was, he had just found out at school that 3 of his close friends were arrested for Kidnapping:

Accused kidnappers removed from Snow Canyon High

7:10 AM, May. 3, 2012 |

ST. GEORGE - Three teenage juveniles accused of kidnapping a 14-year-old and throwing her in the back of a pickup truck were removed from Snow Canyon High School on Wednesday.
The three teens, all males, had been removed from the school by the afternoon, said Craig Hammer, executive director of secondary education for the Washington County School District, but the victim's father, Tom Tuttle, said his son, also a student at SCHS, ran into one of the alleged kidnappers just as he got to school.
"His blood was boiling," Tuttle said. "It was like, how can he be here?"
Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap said Juvenile Court Judge Karla Staheli ordered the boys be released after the alleged kidnapping Sunday. A juvenile prosecutor is reviewing the case. The Santa Clara Department of Public Safety filed kidnapping charges after the victim's description helped officers track down a pickup truck and the suspects.
The victim, Savannah Tuttle, who is a student at nearby Snow Canyon Middle School, related her story in an interview Tuesday, saying she had just started jogging through her neighborhood Sunday evening when she was grabbed from behind by at least three males wearing "scary masks" and no shirts. They locked her beneath a truck bed cover and drove for a short time, then stopped and unlocked the cover, at which point she said she was able to escape and find her way home.
Snow Canyon High School Principal Warren Brooks said even though the incident happened away from the school, teachers were communicating with students about the alleged kidnapping and counselors were on call for anyone who needed assistance.
"Even though it's something that didn't happen at the school, it still affects our students, and each one of them needs to feel safe," he said.
Hammer said that per Utah state code, the district cannot remove a student from school unless there is official notification of charges from the arresting agency.
"Since we were notified they have been formally charged, they have been removed from school," he said.
If a student commits an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult, that student shall be expelled, Hammer said, but for now the students were temporarily suspended.
"It's not that we don't care about the victim," he said of waiting to see how the court case proceeds. "It's that we dot our I's and cross our T's."
It's so sad that this joke went tooooo far. I call if Teenage Stupidity!!!! I hope my son learns a lesson from this from watching his friends. This is going be made into a big lesson for all teenagers. I can totally see it from both points of views, the parents of the girls and the parents of the boys.  Trevor can't understand what would make these boys want to do something like that, even if it was a joke.

THIS WAS ALSO IN THE EDITORS COLUMN:  (The same paper)
There are pranks, and then there are actions that not only cross the line but leave that line far in the rear-view mirror.
If the exact details of what a local 14-year-old girl says happened to her are correct, then some local boys crossed way over that line.
A 14-year-old Santa Clara girl told police that she was jogging when three boys wearing masks forced her into a pickup truck with a bed cover. She rode in the bed of that truck, with the cover keeping her contained against her will, until the vehicle stopped. When her alleged captors opened the bed cover, she was quick to push her way past them and escape by running down the street.
According to the girl's parents, the assailants' parents have contacted them playing off the incident as a prank.
Not even close.
In fact, if what the girl describes happened in the way she recalls it, this incident is a very serious offense and one that could land the three juvenile males in detention until adulthood and will be a record attached to them for life.
Pranks happen. Many people find them to be entertaining and funny. Even the subject of the prank often can identify with the effort that went into pulling a joke on them.
There is nothing funny about detaining someone against his or her will. It's not entertaining. It is, in most people's opinions, a crime. The fact that three boys have been arrested in connection with the incident shows law enforcement didn't get the joke, either.
Comments on the story Tuesday on TheSpectrum.com were unanimous in stating this went beyond a prank and that the people responsible should be prosecuted.
This is an excellent teaching moment for parents. Use this as an example of how things can spiral out of control quickly. Educate kids on what is a prank and what is definitely not a prank.
The boys involved in this case, it appears, face prosecution and likely some penalties at school as well.
If what the girl says happened is true, then criminal prosecution and severe discipline from the school district seems appropriate. Hopefully more will be learned later, although because of the rules of the juvenile court system, it's unlikely that many more details will come to light.
Kidnapping is a serious offense. It isn't a funny prank