Girl, 13, charged with assault in playground scuffle
SEATTLE -- A 13-year-old girl is facing assault charges following a scuffle with a boy in her class.
The girl has been charged with third-degree assault in an incident that took place in the playground of Denny Middle School in June 2009.
The teen, then a sixth-grader, is accused of hitting a 12-year-old boy "twice on the head with her backpack," according to the statement of probable cause.
Detectives said the boy blacked out after the second strike and was taken to Harborview Medical Center. He was diagnosed with a closed-head concussion, and had to wear a neck brace for several days, the boy's father told investigators.
Several witnesses claimed the girl's bag contained rocks; however, a search of the bag did not reveal any rocks.
The boy later told detectives he thought the girl "was angry with him because she had asked him out on the previous Thursday, and he told her he didn't wan to go out with her." He denied having provoked the attack in any way.
But the charged girl said she was simply standing up for herself after the boy called her and her friends names like "sluts" and "whores," according to the document.
The girl's mother, meantime, said she's seen enough. After the incident, the girl was expelled from school, separated from her friends and humiliated.
"(There was) no evidence of rocks in her backpack. I'm upset, very upset," the mother said. "My fear is this is going to follow her."
Despite the backlash, the mother said she wouldn't change her daughter's actions.
"I'm proud of her for what she did," she said.
The girl could face up to 30 days in juvenile detention.
The girl has been charged with third-degree assault in an incident that took place in the playground of Denny Middle School in June 2009.
The teen, then a sixth-grader, is accused of hitting a 12-year-old boy "twice on the head with her backpack," according to the statement of probable cause.
Detectives said the boy blacked out after the second strike and was taken to Harborview Medical Center. He was diagnosed with a closed-head concussion, and had to wear a neck brace for several days, the boy's father told investigators.
Several witnesses claimed the girl's bag contained rocks; however, a search of the bag did not reveal any rocks.
The boy later told detectives he thought the girl "was angry with him because she had asked him out on the previous Thursday, and he told her he didn't wan to go out with her." He denied having provoked the attack in any way.
But the charged girl said she was simply standing up for herself after the boy called her and her friends names like "sluts" and "whores," according to the document.
The girl's mother, meantime, said she's seen enough. After the incident, the girl was expelled from school, separated from her friends and humiliated.
"(There was) no evidence of rocks in her backpack. I'm upset, very upset," the mother said. "My fear is this is going to follow her."
Despite the backlash, the mother said she wouldn't change her daughter's actions.
"I'm proud of her for what she did," she said.
The girl could face up to 30 days in juvenile detention.