Mark Steyn on the youngster charged with sexual harassment in suburban Washington, D.C.:
Randy Castro is in the first grade. But, at the ripe old age of 6, he’s been declared a sex offender by Potomac View Elementary School. He’s guilty of sexual harassment, and the incident report will remain on his record for the rest of his school days – and maybe beyond.
Maybe it’ll be one of those things that just keeps turning up on background checks forever and ever: Perhaps 34-year-old Randy Castro will apply for a job, and at his prospective employer’s computer up will pop his sexual-harasser status yet again. Or maybe he’ll be able to keep it hushed up until he’s 57 and runs for governor of Virginia, and suddenly his political career self-detonates when the sordid details of his Spitzeresque sexual pathologies are revealed.
(“Attack of the preschool perverts”, syndicated/Orange County Register, Apr. 12; Brigid Schulte, “For Little Children, Grown-Up Labels As Sexual Harassers”, Washington Post, Apr. 3). A contrary view (letter to the editor from Cynthia Terrell of Takoma Park, Md., WaPo, Apr. 5): “The Post showed appalling insensitivity to the inappropriate nature of Randy Castro’s act. …our culture remains largely indifferent to privacy and harassment issues involving gender.”
5 Comments
Anything coming from ‘Nuclear Free Takoma Park’ can be dismissed instantly. Anyone taking up residence there has voluntarily surrendered the possibility of being taken seriously.
Think of it as Berkeley East.
Statutes should end all harassment claims. They should immunize a smart slap across the face of the impudent wolf. These feminist noises pretextually mask aims to increase lawyer business, by lawyerizing school and workplace discipline.
A sharp rebuke to a fresh child may land the teacher and school in legal hot water for ethnic intimidation. There will always be something to pick on, to increase lawyer jobs.
This poor kid is a patsy for the school admins trying ever so diligently to avoid the “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” label; here we have the mark of evolving standards.
I was initially going to comment about the true nature of sexual harassment as referred to in my new book, Wingtips with Spurs. After reading this article (twice as the first time I was in shock) I still decided to comment as I have a section in Wingtips titled “Village Idiot” and I believe this applies to all officials connected with this outrage. For crying out loud.
so the school feels it has more sweeping powers than the law, eh?
last i heard, if there is no mental capacity to form criminal intent, then there is no crime. also last i heard, six year olds are below the age of criminal jurisdiction in most countries that aren’t tinpot dictatorships.
the school should be sued for child abuse.