Did You Know...

It’s over. A judge dismissed charges today in the insane case of two boys in Oregon charged with multiple counts of felony sexual abuse, banned from school and forbidden any contact with their friends after being accused of swatting the behinds of fellow classmates.

Two 13-year-old boys accused of slapping girls’ bottoms and poking or cupping girls’ breasts at school apologized on Monday as a judge dismissed charges against the two, ending a six-month case that drew national attention. The charges triggered a debate over whether such behavior in school should be considered criminal.

Four girls listed as victims by the prosecutors had asked the judge to drop the charges against Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison. Yamhill County Judge John Collins did so on Monday, saying it was in the “interest of justice.” A number of young girls were in the courtroom during the hearing. They included at least some of the four who asked that the charges be dropped, attorneys said.

During the brief hearing, the two boys faced the girls and apologized. “I never intended to hurt you in any way,” Mashburn said. Cornelison told the girls: “I hope we can still be friends.”

The News-Register newspaper of McMinnville reported that a “civil compromise” reached by prosecutors and the defense called for both boys to apologize, to pay each of the four girls $250 and to complete a “boundaries education” program.

Seems to me that the individuals who need “boundaries education” are the officials who allowed this case to progress as far as it did.

Nuts.