During the school year, my son who is never been in trouble was complaining about a troubled boy on the bus who was constantly threatening the kids name, calling cursing the other children. The trouble boy has been removed before on the bus for his behavior. The bus driver never made this boy sit at the front of the bus. He continued to let the boy be a bully on the bus . An incident took place where one boys’s knees were on the back of a seat and the troubled boy was turning around saying I’m gonna beat your ass. If you don’t move your knees and the boys said I’m not gonna move my knees, and my child poured water on the troubled boys head. The troubled boy turned around and hit my son and hit the other boy.
Two months later, I received a letter from the juvenile court, wanting my child to come in for an interview about the situation. When I called and asked, they said the are looking at an assault 4 charge for pouring liquid on a child. What should I do? My son is never been in trouble. He’s never had a detention. Should I bring him in and let him be questioned? Should I hire an attorney?
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Comments
Lawyer. Immediately. Do not let your son talk to law enforcement without both you and a lawyer present. Same goes for you — don’t try to “explain what really happened” or anything. Lawyer.
Not a lawyer. please do not let your child go in without a lawyer. They will not be in there to help your child.
You know you need to hire an attorney. Do that asap.
Not a lawyer, but I am a school admin in another state.
Every state has a bullying policy, based on federal laws. If your school receives public funds, they likely have a bullying policy.
Here is a link to the Missouri bullying policy. https://dese.mo.gov/governmental-affairs/public-school-laws-missouri/bullying
I looked around a bit and suggest starting at the courage 2 report link.
If your child is questioned by a lawyer, ask for a court appointed attorney, or pay for one yourself. Do not allow him to talk to anyone without you there.
I would also do a formal “freedom of information act” request through your school district. Ask for copies of all paperwork involving behavior issues and/or bus incidents. The district website will have a formal way of making this request, follow their guidelines exactly. If they tell you they can’t provide information because of confidentiality, tell them to black out the other child’s information.
The kid can terrorize a bus full of students yet someone retaliates in good faith and this happens 🙁
If you don’t have money, you can apply with the missouri state public defender system even if your son hasn’t been charged yet. This is probably enough to get pre-charge representation. If you’re in the city, they probably have some attorneys who mostly work the juvenile side and will know exactly what to do.
But definitely talk to a lawyer and don’t give them an interview.