Snipped from: Chicago Tribune | School sex allegation probed at Waubonsie.

School sex allegation probed at Waubonsie

By James Kimberly and Angela Rozas, Tribune staff reporters. Freelance reporter Amy Fischer Roth contributed to this report

Published October 12, 2005

Aurora police and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office are investigating alleged sexual conduct between Waubonsie Valley High School students in a stairwell during school hours, authorities said Tuesday. Aurora Police Cmdr. Bill Powell said police were called Friday morning. Police interviewed the 18-year-old female and two 17-year-old males who were allegedly involved. The boys play for the high school football team, Powell said.

DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett said the complaint did not allege rape, but sexual conduct on school property. He also said the Police department did not ask his office to authorize charges against the boys.

I am going out on a limb here, because the facts I’ve been able to gleam from Google, the Trib and the Sun-Times have been limited. That being said, I have a hunch that this case segways directly into the previous posts I’ve made regarding confinement/detention/being held in custody. Given the stats I was able to find, however, I’m confident enough to post this.

Keep reading for another justice rant.

Technorati Tags: Chicago, Justice, Juvenile Justice, Law, Opinion, Probation, Rants

First of all, I believe that if this allegation of sexual assault was to occur in my neighborhood, say Bowen High School, the offenders would have been arrested and charges would have been filed. Furthermore, I also believe that the two adults (as they are 17-years old, the are no longer considered Juveniles) would have been held in custody, even if it was for 24 hours.

Why? Not because my neighborhoods have a stronger sense of community protection, but because my neighborhood is predominately low-income and African-American, and Waubonsie is predominately high(er) income and White.

I have had a number of cases (I can think of 5 off the top of my head) where in a minor has been accused of sexually inappropriate behavior in school (in my neighborhood, obviously) and has been immediately disciplined and arrested. In the Waubonsie case, things are being “investigated,” and it appears things are already back to normal. In my neighborhood, the case would be “investigated” while the alleged sits in jail.

The fact is quite simple: If you’re (warning, PDF ahead)poor and/or African American you’re more likely to be detained than if you were “higher income” or White.

While this is true for the country it is also a problem in our city that most of us just don’t want to be bothered with.