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Boy, 8, Arrested for 5th Time in 4 Months
Filed under: In The News, Behavior: Big Kids
Police have repeatedly been called to arrest an 8-year-old boy. Credit: Getty
It's been a busy four months.
No, this is not another Charlie Sheen story. This is all the work of an 8-year-old boy.
The Orlando Sentinel reports the child, who attends Riverside Elementary School in Orlando, Fla., spends most of his time at the school in a unit designed to help students with significant emotional or behavioral problems.
He spends the rest of the time, it seems, with police.
Arrested on March 1 for the fifth time since November, the newspaper reports, the boy spent the next three days in juvenile detention.
His rap sheet would make young Al Capone jealous with charges as aggravated battery, criminal mischief and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Are these repeated field trips to the hoosegow helping?
Maybe not, school officials tell the Sentinel, but they're necessary to protect others.
The problems allegedly began Nov. 10 when, according to the newspaper, police responded to reports of the boy assaulting a teacher and spitting on a another adult.
"Take me to jail!" he allegedly demanded. Police obliged.
Calls to police are a last resort and are made only when "the student gets so unruly and out of control," Ron Pinnell, a senior school administrator in Orlando, tells the Sentinel. "It's not something they take lightly. You have to think through it."
This might be the end of the line for the boy -- at least at Riverside. His mother, through the Orange County Public Defender's Office, tells the Sentinel her son will not be returning to school.
Some people fault school officials for the way they have handled the situation, the newspaper reports.
Robert Wesley, an Orange County public defender, tells the Sentinel he has taken the case personally because his younger brother has a disability and sometimes lashes out.
"Why aren't we dealing with this more holistically? Why are we dealing with it the way we deal with an adult who has hit somebody or damaged some property?" he asks the newspaper.
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 13)
3-04-2011 @ 2:38PM
Rita said...ALl this little child needs is love and discipline and it starts at home...bring him to me and I will make him a good outstanding little guy who will grow up to be a young intellingent young man. I raised my kids on my own and they are otustanding young adults. they got the love i could give them and they got the education that was needed to become a young working adult. All the child is looking for is sttention and he aint gettingit at home....My heart goes out to this child. let me raise him
Reply
3-04-2011 @ 2:40PM
kenhp1 said...Sounds like a lack of home training to me. If my child ever acted this way I would take him to therapy immediately. However, he would first be punished for his actions. More than likely he would receive a bare bottom spanking with a paddle. It has become very obvious that the lack of discipline has put this kid over the top. Someone better reign him in soon before he spends life in prison. A painful and humiliating paddling is better than letting him continue his behavior.
Until he is aware there are consequences to his actions he will continue his behavior and potentially hurt someone. Afterwards he can receive therapy to assist in his appropriate behavior.
Reply
3-29-2011 @ 11:43AM
Missy said...A bare bottom spanking with a paddle? That is considered abuse. Using a bare hand isn't, but spanking isn't always the answer. We don't know the medical history of this child, we don't know if the parents have gone through counseling. We just know he is in a class for children with behavior problems. It sounds like the school district is not equipped to handle this childs problems. Quite honestly, the first time the police needed to be called on my child, I would have sought other educational options. But that is me, I can't speak for these parents nor the school district, but there has to be much more going on that this article doesn't cover.
3-04-2011 @ 2:59PM
Miss Major said...It's pretty evident that the parents of this little demoniac are RAISING him to be a sociopath. Wait 'til he's 16. Gotta love ParentDish.
Reply
3-04-2011 @ 2:54PM
BIGAL said...This kid is going to wind up killing someone one day, and all the bleeding hearts will say, why didn't someone help him when he was younger. When they take him to jail, they should lock up the parents as well, then maybe they'd do something to correct his behavior. Why is it the schools job to raise this little animal. If he were a dog, they would have put him down already. This kid is defective, and will be in jail most of his adult life.
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3-04-2011 @ 3:18PM
Kat said...Defective? Is that your official psychiatric diagnosis Dr. Bigal? This is an eight year old boy have a heart! You sound defective!
3-04-2011 @ 3:24PM
aclark said...It is these kinds of destructive comments that rob children of their identity and destiny! If a child is told these kinds of things over and over, it becomes who he believes himself to be...and yes, if that is who he thinks he is, jail is exactly where he will end up! Why do you think our prisons are overflowing with men who lacked a positive father relationship and never learned how to be the men they were created to be??? This little guy needs to know that WHO he IS is NOT WHAT he has DONE!!! Every child is born with a purpose and potential...he is not living up to his because he obviously doesnt know WHAT his potential IS! This child, and EVERY child is VALUABLE...God doesn't make ANY throw-aways...and He certainly doesn't make any junk!
BIGAL, YOU HAVE DESTINY, YOU HAVE VALUE, YOU ARE UNIQUE, AND YOU ARE LOVED!
3-13-2011 @ 11:39AM
hyde23 said...Stamp my forehead with "Reject" and call me Charlie!
4-20-2011 @ 6:33PM
Randy said...Why must the parents be blamed all the time for the behavior of their unruly children? Lets take a closer look at the REAL causes. Early Mandated Vaccines that effect the neurological systems of these children. The toxins in foods that may have adverse affects (allergic reactions that affect behavior), Genetic causes or pollution. Perhaps in some cases but not ALL, medications given during pregnancy. The poor quality of TV shows for children. Example.. Sponge Bob and his friends who call each other idiot and stupid. There are many factors that contribute to the violent behavior of children these days. It's not always about domestic abuse and neglect. However...There are many children who ARE abused, neglected and experience bad parenting, but before one condemns and accuses, maybe they should take a closer look at all the environmental causes. I blame the legal drug pushers in government who mandate unnecessary vaccines and medications to innocent children who can't refuse them, then the children suffer from the side effects and pay the price with a horrible life. Welcome to America! They'll be riding the Oxicodone train soon enough!
3-04-2011 @ 2:56PM
SJL said...I have a son who could have been the one written about in the article. We struggled for years with the various Psychiatrists being unable to give us an accurate diagnosis for his behaviors, and he has been on an assortment of medications over the years as a result. Finally, he was accurately diagnosed at the age of 13 with Autism. The behaviors we were seeing at school were due to environmental stimuli beyond his control that were triggering severe emotional and behavioral reactions.
We are good parents. We certainly didn't "cause" him to act out at school; our other children don't have those problem behaviors. Even before our son was diagnosed with Autism, we had learned at home to minimize his exposure to certain noises, smells, and so on that seemed to irritate him, as well as to give him adequate transition time between activities and to let him move and jump around as he needed to. We didn't have the luxury of controlling those things at school, and as a result his behaviors escalated over the years to the point we had to withdraw him from public schools altogether.
I really feel for the family of the boy in the article. They have a rough road ahead. I just hope they address every avenue of diagnosis and therapy until they find something that works for their son. I also hope they will look into the Autism spectrum disorders---a person can be verbal and "book smart" and still have the emotional and behavioral disabilities that make social functioning very difficult due to Autism.
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3-04-2011 @ 3:27PM
Kristin said...SJL...i agree totally. I am the parent of a 14y/o daughter who is on the Spectrum. It sounds to me as if the child in the article may well be undiagnosed Autistic. His behavior screams "meltdown". The child should be evaluated immediately and appropriate behavior therapies put into place.
3-04-2011 @ 4:35PM
paigeotron1 said...Thank God some sane people finally brought up the possibility of Autism. I was reading through the article and the blogs and couldn't believe it was not here somewhere! My nephew is autistic, and when he was younger he had many of these types of outbursts. He is a teen-ager now, and still has good and bad days, but is much better now. Please have this unfortunate child evaluated and get him into treatment--not jail--right away!
3-04-2011 @ 3:05PM
Linda said...I will guaranty you this young boy has a brain disfunction called Asperger's autism - google it everyone - he is having meltdowns at school that obviously are not being handled properly - I can't believe this poor child is being arrested. He is suffering from this disfunction and will have to cope with it for the rest of his life. I hope his parents are getting him the proper behavioral therapy and/or medication that he needs. And please everyone, discipline does not cure autism!!!! I live this problem because my dear 6 year old grandson has Asperger's autism.
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3-04-2011 @ 4:08PM
mark said...You know, it is ok to beat SOME kids... Had this child had THE FEAR put in him at the age of 4 or 5 he wouldn't be such a thug at 8. What's he going to be like at 16 when he's got some body mass behind his violent tantrums? The article didn't say but i'm willing to bet he's being raised by a single mom, seaking negative attention are we? Looks like he got it.
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3-04-2011 @ 3:26PM
gabby said...miche- no where in the story did it state that the young boy had a disability.the story stated that the public defender was taking the case personally because his younger brother has a disability that results in him lashing out similar to the young boy.please read the article carefully before replying to another person's comments
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3-04-2011 @ 3:35PM
justk said...This sounds more like a case of the parent expecting the school to handle the child. Discipline and teaching of correct behavor starts at birth. It is not the responsibility of the schools. Too many kids today start school with little or none of that, because the parent isn't doing the job. Don't have kids if you don't intend to raise them. It makes no difference if they have disability or not. Gear yourself to the situation you find yourself in.
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3-04-2011 @ 3:40PM
patty said...Has this family taken the boy to therapy? Has anyone tried to find out the source of all this anger? Sometimes parents and school officials can do ALL the right things and children need medical help! If he is not in therapy, the parents, the school, and the police are not at all concerned for this child's future!
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3-04-2011 @ 3:56PM
SirGalton said...The mother has refused any form of counseling, stating that the boy is fine at home. The judge has now mandated an evaluation and counseling services, it's about time....
3-04-2011 @ 3:47PM
MrBasebal1 said...Why should the kid be angry? If you called the cops on your neighbor because his dog crapped on your lawn, wouldn't you expect your neighbor to be very friendly towards you? Then, if your neighbor gave you the finger and you called the cops on him again, you would expect his attitude towards you to improve, right? Your neighbor should be "all smiles" because after all, you just taught him a valuable life lesson, right? How stupid are these people?
The description of this kid certainly makes it sound like he has Asberger's Syndrome, which is a form of Autism. SLJ and Linda know what they are talking about. Parents of Asberger's kids are pulling their hair out, because many of these kids can appear "normal" and are very bright. However, no amount of punishment works with some of them, because half the time they don't remember or even understand what they are accused of doing. I've seen them bump into old people, or do things that most people would consider impolite and not even realize that they did it. Parents and teachers will accuse them of lying, but the kid will say he didn't do it or doesn't remember doing it.
Imagine telling someone who is paralyzed with a spinal cord injury that they should just get up and walk, because they have two perfectly good legs. This is how people often treat kids with Asberger's, because they can appear to be like everyone else at times.
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3-26-2011 @ 11:15AM
laurie said...And this is why so many parents home school their children with disabilities. I have a grandson with autism and sever ADHD and i would do what ever it took to keep him from public school or private school. He is very bright he is six years old and in third grade. This chance he is being given would never happen in a school setting they do not get the education or respect that other children do they are shoved into a room with a "baby sitter". I'd be angrey too if I was trying to fit in and have friends but I'm kept away from others. So much for that policy "no child left behind" Oh wait that only applies to children that are considered normal but what everyone forgets is autism and other disibilites are defined by the public not the person who has it. there are Many Many people with autim that learn over time to control their emotions and behavior but they are taught in a loving enviroment is school is not a loving enviroment. Van Gough, Einstien, many actors and actresses to name a few. April id autism month this parent needs to stand up for that child and start home schooling and get assistance for him. He will thrive and probably we will he of him later in life doing great things. Good luck to that parent and God bless the child. I hope the best for them.