Two 8th grade girls attack/strip 5th grade boy.

[Wolfy]

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A Fort Myers mother says she feels powerless after her 11-year-old son was pinned down at his neck and stripped naked by two middle school girls.

At first glance the minute-long YouTube video looks like kids playing. But it soon takes a disturbing turn as the boy cries out for help, humiliated and pinned down to the ground.

"Mommy!," he yells.

The video, which has since been taken down, shows two Dunbar Middle School girls holding the boy down in broad daylight, inside a gated community.

The boy begs the girls to stop as the rip off his bathing suit, leaving him naked lying on the ground.

The title of the video, which was online for more than 24 hours, says the boy is getting "owned."

"I'm surprised these girls can just do that and get away with it," said the boy's mother. "Or there are no repercussions."

Fox 4 is not releasing the names of anyone involved.

The mother says Fort Myers police filled out a report but weren't much help at first.

The officer "said he didn't know if there was a crime committed but said it looked like a prank."

The police report taken Tuesday described the incident twice as a "prank" and says "police incident closed."

"Nobody cares, nobody cares," the mother said. "If this was my son doing it to a little girl there would have been lights and sirens at my door."

Shortly after Fox 4 contacted police they showed up at the mother's daughter. A spokesperson for the department says it has nothing to do with the media's involvement in the story.

They tell us the plan was always to follow up.

We wanted to talk with Chief Doug Baker about the case. After agreeing to an interview, he backed out because he didn't want to cause the boy further embarrassment, according to spokesperson Shelly Flynn.

Fort Myers attorney E.B. Newberry says at the very least this is a misdemeanor battery because the girls touched the boy against his will.

She says it could even be considered child pornography.

Newberry says if the situation have been reversed, the boy most likely would have been arrested - and admits there's a "double standard."

"Kids need to know they can't do these things and get off without anything," said Newberry. "But I also don't think that their future should be ruined either. It's a Catch-22."

And that is something the boy's mother is struggling with. She's not sure if she will press charges but feels the girls should face some sort of punishment.

Fort Myers police confirm this would have been a misdemeanor battery charge. They say unless the mother is willing to press charges there's not much they can do.

They say they are looking into what charges, if any, the YouTube element could bring but wouldn't elaborate.

"I think they should be held accountable for what they did," she said. "You can't do this to people. What gives you the right to do this?"

"The officer "said he didn't know if there was a crime committed but said it looked like a prank.""

That's what really bothers me...He said it looked like a prank, them stripping him against his will while he cried for help. I mean, What the hell. :/

The girls posted the video they recorded of the act up on youtube, and it stayed up for 24 hours, no doubt humiliating the boy even worse than if they hadn't done that...I think this shows some differing sides in our society...2 girls stripping a boy is considered a "Prank" while two boys stripping a girl is "Sexual Assault" :/

Buuuuuut..there is some good news...even if the mother won't/doesn't want to press charges, apparently Anonymous already has their names and addresses, soooo...something is going to happen to them.

Still, what do you think, E, should she press charges?...I think she should, as many as she can. :/

[meikle]

People shouldn't be allowed to say 'catch-22' until they know what it means.

Buuuuuut..there is some good news...even if the mother won't/doesn't want to press charges, apparently Anonymous already has their names and addresses, soooo...something is going to happen to them.

I don't think vigilantism qualifies as good news!

[Wolfy]

People shouldn't be allowed to say 'catch-22' until they know what it means.

I don't think vigilantism qualifies as good news!

I dunno..they have to be punished somehow. :/ Sure tossing them to Anonymous may be going to far, but hey, they shouldn't have done it in the first place. And posting it up on Youtube just made it even worse...

[meikle]

It 'may be'?

Sending a bunch of vigilantes after a pair of thirteen year old girls is absolutely not a good thing, especially when you consider their history when it comes to young girls.

[Oniya]

A Fort Myers mother says she feels powerless after her 11-year-old son was pinned down at his neck and stripped naked by two middle school girls.

"I'm surprised these girls can just do that and get away with it," said the boy's mother. "Or there are no repercussions."

"Nobody cares, nobody cares," the mother said. "If this was my son doing it to a little girl there would have been lights and sirens at my door."

And that is something the boy's mother is struggling with. She's not sure if she will press charges but feels the girls should face some sort of punishment.
Fort Myers police confirm this would have been a misdemeanor battery charge. They say unless the mother is willing to press charges there's not much they can do.

"I think they should be held accountable for what they did," she said. "You can't do this to people. What gives you the right to do this?"

I'm sorry, but I'm putting all of this on the boy's mother.  If she thinks they should be held accountable, she should hold them accountable.  She is not powerless - in fact, she is the very person with the power to make this go forward.  She is showing her son that he can not count on her to stand up for him.  He calls for Mommy, and she just wrings her hands and says nobody cares.

[Malefique]

I agree, the mother should show some guts and demand at least restitution in the form of a public (online Youtube video, perhaps) apology and some statement from these girls that shows they understand this wasn't funny and it wasn't acceptable.  But so should their parents.  If my child had been the victim I'd be yelling for that public apology at least, and if they were the culprit I'd be explaining to them exactly why they had done wrong, and making them make that apology even without being called to, not to mention grounding them for a year and banning them from the internet except for school projects under my supervision.  But I also blame a media culture which promotes this kind of assault as 'pranks' and tries to make it acceptable.  I don't know how widespread it is in the US, but in my own country people have been severely hurt and even killed in so-called 'happy slapping' incidents - an elderly Asian man was assaulted last year by hooligans while walking his little grandchild home, and he died of a heart attack with a bewildered toddler standing by him.  The culprits had filmed their 'prank' and run off to send it to their friends.  I think we need to redefine these things not as pranks but as assault, and then we can see them for what they are. 

[Star Safyre]

People shouldn't be allowed to say 'catch-22' until they know what it means.

+1, especially if they're an attorney.


A bit more on topic, this is clearly an assault and the distribution of nude images of a child.  I somewhat agree that the mother should be more proactive in her demands, but I am most disturbed by police calling this a "prank".  I agree that there are serious inequalities here based on the genders of those involved.  Though it is possible that the incident is not sexually motivated, the same can be said of any sexual assaults.  The motive is often power, not sex, which I believe getting "owned" would be all about.  The girls deserve punishment, but it should be befitting their intentions and the harm done to the victim.  From what I've seen, I would not consider them sexual predators, but some punishment is in order, perhaps community service and sensitivity training.  At the very, very least, an apology is in serious order.

[Shjade]

Looked up a news clip of the event in question - blurred and shortened version of the original tape, but I was more interested in the audio and general sense anyway - and I would imagine part of the disparity probably comes from the generally low-key action. Yes, he's clearly pinned down, unwilling and stripped - problem. It seems to me like he was holding back a little, though (no, not in a "secretly he was into it" way, more like an "I don't know what I should do" or "should I hit girls" kind of way), which always makes things a little weird for an audience in addition to the reverse of the expected gender being victimized.

Shitty situation all around, pretty much. If I were that kid I'd want to deck them both, but somehow I don't think that'd go over too well, either.

[Callie Del Noire]

I think if the boy's mother was even remotely more antagonistic (I think she cares more for her son's mental being more) the girls would be in jail (or on bail) awaiting criminal molestation/pornographic charges. I think if the DA was a bit more aggressive like some I've seen in other parts of the country, both those girls would be on the short bus trip to the sex offenders list.

It seems in this situation (aside form the folks at Anonymous jumping in) that moderate behavior has been taking charge in the case. Of course the girls need SOME punishment.

[Alliance]

I'm not surprised the police called it prank. Let me tell you a little story of my childhood for a second. I was bullied, yes even by girls, a lot. One day me and my younger brother and older sister are going for a stroll at the park near the school. When some of the kids who bullied me were around and yes they were girls. I was alone at the time, my sister was attending to my brother who fell down. Well the girls stop verbally assaulting me, yelling at me, calling me names. I'm going to ignore them and walk away. But they follow me and my siblings. I mean they literally were following us around and they get another boy to come over as well. They start yelling at us calling us chickens. Finally the boy comes up and pushes me from behind. Told me to fight him. Well I'm just going to walk off. Instead he punches me in the face. I got a tooth chipped and a bloody nose. And the girls are still harassing us until we get back into the neighborhood. We know were these girls live and we know their address, we also knew who they were. Well my sister calls the police. The police arrive and all the kids are around. We take our statements.
And the police tell the parents, "We do not know which one is lying". I was the one covered in blood here, with a chipped tooth still have the chip too.None of them were touched and we wanted to ignore them.

So I'm actually not surprised that the police say it looks like a prank. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

To the topic at hand, I do think the girls should get some form of punishment. Be it vigilante or be it an actual police action. I believe in vigilante justice when its called for and in this case I think its called for. I think that is if the mom wanted to.

One more thing about the police. The police tend to not take younger folks seriously. Because they are kids, they may discriminate against age. I do not think these girls should get away scot free.

They do not have any consequences towards their actions, thus they'll do it again.

[RubySlippers]

Go to the FBI and ask they investigate both girls for the interstate transmission of child pornography and a hate crime, why pussy foot with the local police. And what misdemeanor this was a sexual battery, creation of child pornogrophy, distribution of child pornography and a hate crime based on gender.

And I would sue YouTube for leaving this video on and abetting a crime and child pornography, sue the girls parents for not supervising them on grounds of mental distress and all medical bills.

They were right if it was two boys doing this to a girl heads would be rolling.

[meikle]

The fact that there are people advocating sending adults working outside of the law after thirteen-year-old girls is pretty disgusting.

[Callie Del Noire]

The fact that there are people advocating sending adults working outside of the law after thirteen-year-old girls is pretty disgusting.

I'm honestly surprised the DA didn't get them for child porn charges.. a lot of them would have them on the offenders list before they could say 'owned' again.

[meikle]

Which is, let's be clear, equally disgusting and a pretty clear sign that the justice system is not working.

There might be circumstances where something you do during your childhood should impair your ability to ever be a functioning member of society, but pantsing somebody probably isn't it.

Our justice system really shouldn't be built around vengeance.

[Callie Del Noire]

Which is, let's be clear, equally disgusting and a pretty clear sign that the justice system is not working.

There might be circumstances where something you do during your childhood should impair your ability to ever be a functioning member of society, but pantsing somebody probably isn't it.

Our justice system really shouldn't be built around vengeance.

Tell that to the DA that tried to put a pair of 16 year olds on the Offenders list for getting caught making out in a car at a local 'Lookout point'.

[meikle]

Usually when you say "tell that to", you follow it up with like, a situation where the aforementioned fact would be out of place.  "I think XYZ is okay!"  "Tell that to person unjustly harmed by XYZ!"

In this case, uh, okay?  Yes, that's a disgusting case, too, and my point stands?

[Callie Del Noire]

Usually when you say "tell that to", you follow it up with like, a situation where the aforementioned fact would be out of place.  "I think XYZ is okay!"  "Tell that to person unjustly harmed by XYZ!"

In this case, uh, okay?  Yes, that's a disgusting case, too, and my point stands?

I think it would be a travesty actually but given that the girls actually posted the assault online I think they need to be prosecuted for something. Behavior like this needs a charge, with probation most likely, to keep them from escalating further. Sorry if I didn't make clearer in earlier posts.

[Oniya]

There's something just - sociopathic about posting video of yourself attacking someone.  Not only does it show that you were callous enough to beat someone up without provocation, it shows that you are proud of what you did.  Oh yeah, you and your buddy are such big, tough people, beating up a kid three years younger than you, two on one, until the kid's calling for Mommy. *eyeroll*

Absolutely no empathy in those two.  None at all.

[Shjade]

Go to the FBI and ask they investigate both girls for the interstate transmission of child pornography and a hate crime, why pussy foot with the local police. And what misdemeanor this was a sexual battery, creation of child pornogrophy, distribution of child pornography and a hate crime based on gender.

...no.

There was no sexual battery. He was exposed, but no assault of a sexual nature took place - it's just regular assault/battery at most.

Creation and distribution of child porn you could argue about. I don't know if you'd be able to make a passable case, but you could try.

Hate crime based on gender? There's nothing to support that. They aren't insulting him for being a boy, they're just laughing at him and humiliating him. It doesn't seem like he was targeted specifically for his gender, more because he was an easy target.

Wanting some repercussions for their actions is a good thing. Going way overboard on what to throw at them isn't.

[Oniya]

If I'm not mistaken, the fact that he's under 12 already serves as an aggravating factor.

[Trieste]

It's chilling that a pair of preteen girls are capable of this sort of thing. It sends shudders down my spine. What sort of adults will they grow into? Were this to happen in my community, you would bet that I would be lobbying for them to AT LEAST be required to attend counseling.

Oh my god, it makes my skin crawl. Kids can be super cruel - and writing it off as 'kids can be unkind' is a form of complicity that makes my blood run cold. I agree with Oniya in this: the mother has power that she should be using to protect her son and try to make sure these girls don't do more harm down the road.

[Jefepato]

Still, what do you think, E, should she press charges?...I think she should, as many as she can. :/

I don't really follow why there's a question of her doing so in the first place.  Unless I greatly misunderstood my criminal procedure classes, it should be the DA's decision whether or not to pursue charges at this point.

EDIT: However, either way, yes I think charges should be filed.

[Alliance]

The fact that there are people advocating sending adults working outside of the law after thirteen-year-old girls is pretty disgusting.

My father did. When I was bullied.

I think at some point you have to do something for yourself by yourself.

I never advocate they go after the daughters. Do talk to the parents. Do establish boundaries and what you will and won't accept. Obviously if it was dire enough to get the police involved, just because the police advocate it as a "prank" doesn't mean you have to.

[meikle]

My father did. When I was bullied.

I think at some point you have to do something for yourself by yourself.

I never advocate they go after the daughters. Do talk to the parents. Do establish boundaries and what you will and won't accept. Obviously if it was dire enough to get the police involved, just because the police advocate it as a "prank" doesn't mean you have to.

Uh, "talk to their parents" and "yeah, send vigilantes after these children!" are totally different ideas.

You don't have to accept it as a prank.  You do have to accept that taking the law into your own hands is stupid and incredibly criminal.

[Trieste]

Maybe you guys could start up a dialogue or another thread on the merits and downfalls of vigilante justice?