Legal Question in Sexual Harassment in Pennsylvania
juvenille sexual harrasment
My son (15)was reported for skimming a girls breast as a joke, non malicious, they call it ''scooping''(she is his best friends twin sister) her mother was called in to speak with the principle and then my son was ? without me there, I was called after he said he did touch her but meant no harm, it was stated she had marks left on her, my son only got a 3 day suspension and no formal charges at this time, my ? is, Is it ok for them to ? or interrogate my son with threats of expulsion if he doesnt confess? they have the girl and her friend that says she saw the marks. No one was brought in as a witness for my son even though his friend told me he did not touch her hard enough to leave a mark if he even made contact. I do not want this on my son's record for school or college. Is there anything I can do? My son has never been in any kind of trouble before either at home or at school.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: juvenille sexual harrasment
You asked about sexual harassment.
There are two issues here 1) whether
there was sexual harassment, and 2) whether there was a procedural problem during the investigation or imposition of punishment.
As to the second question that can only be determined by someone familiar with the rules in that jurisdiction.
The first issue seems to clearly be sexual harassment. The question as to whether it should be considered so in a school environment is a conundrum that I can't get into. It doesn't matter that the contact didn't leave a physical mark but whether or not there was unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature (and "scooping" does seem to qualify as such).
I am guessing you are the boy's father, and you may get a better perspective by speaking with a female about this. But in either case, a way to look at this is how would you feel if this "scooping" were done to you where some man "scooped" your genitalia.
Speaking for myself, if someone "scooped" a female friend or relative of mine, my conduct probably would not be lawyerly.
In my opinion, your son should be better educated as to what is and is not appropriate. The "non-malicious" fun, may have been fun for him (if he weren't caught), but how fun was it for the girl who was assaulted?
Regards,
Roger
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