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Butt-Slapping gets Boys in Trouble
Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at 4:46AM 
Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison, two 13-year-old boys ran down the hallway of Patton Middle School after lunch, slapping as many girl's butts as they could get their hands on along the way. A teacher's aid caught them and sent them to the office. The vice principal, Steve Tillery, and a police officer, Marshall Roache, stationed at the school, questioned the boys and some of the girls involved in the incident. Apparently convinced that a crime had been committed, the officer read the boys their Miranda rights and hauled them off in handcuffs to juvenile jail, where they spent the next five days. Now, Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison, face the prospect of 10 years in juvenile detention and a lifetime on the sex offender registry. Read the Original Charges here. The charges against both Cory Mashburn and Ryan Cornelison were later amended and the felony charges against Cory were dropped.
Bradley Berry, the McMinnville district attorney, said his office "aggressively" pursues sex crimes that involve children. "These cases are devastating to children," he said. "They are life-altering cases."
"The disproportionality of the charges is absurd," said Phillip Esplin, a forensic psychologist who has researched child sex abuse for the National Institutes of Health.
"My question is, why this would constitute a sexual offense, as opposed to something inappropriate that should have been dealt with within the school -- not within the criminal justice system."
To Rhonda Pope, mother of Christian Richter, 13, a girl named in the court papers as one of the victims, the charges are justified.
"Slapping somebody on the butt is sexual harassment, and it is a crime," she said. "Considering what was going on and that my daughter was offended, it is a crime. And it's not OK."
Insisting that the charges are an overreaction, Mashburn's attorney, Mark Lawrence, has worked to bring as much public attention as possible to the story. Lawrence, himself a former Yamhill County prosecutor, and his client briefly appeared on commentator Bill O'Reilly's cable TV show.
"I look at this from a prosecutor's perspective and a defense attorney's perspective, and believe this is truly insane. I do not condone this behavior -- it was inappropriate. But it is not criminal."
Marshall Roache, the police officer, after conducting a follow up interview with many of the girls was told that it was "slap butt day" and many of them were involved in the same behavior including one girl who described it as "a handshake we do." Two of the alleged victims said they had swatted boys' buttocks themselves. No one claimed to be offended by the horseplay. At this point the two boys were still locked up.
The next day the juvenile court held a hearing on whether the boys should be released. The courtroom was packed with Patton students and families of both boys -- many were crying. The boys were there, too, in shackles and jail outfits. Two of the alleged victims spontaneously offered to testify on behalf of the boys. Under oath, they told the judge they were friends and did not feel threatened by them. The two girls also testified they felt compelled, during the initial interviews with Tillery and Roache, to say things that weren't true. Read a copy of the court transcript here.
"Well, when the (vice) principal asked me stuff, I kind of felt pressured to answer stuff that I was uncomfortable, and that it hurt, but it really didn't," the girl said, explaining that she didn't think anything sexual went on.
The boys were released. But the judge ordered them out of school, required constant parental supervision and barred them from contacting friends. Any deviation, he said, would result in more time in juvenile jail. The boys and their parents were interviewed about the experience. Watch the Video Clip Here
The only "victims" in this entire incident were the two boys and their families. Because of their horseplay, two boys have been thrown in jail for days, enduring what must have been a nightmare for both of them. Now their parents are suffering under the expense of having to hire lawyers to defend their children. Both boys are under house arrest and are not able to return to school. They are facing some very serious charges that could land them in jail for a very long time. And in addition they may have to register as sex offenders and be included in that registry for the rest of their lives. All this over an incident in which no one claims to be a victim and no one is afraid of these two 13-year-olds, who were just having some fun with their friends during the lunch break at school. When will some sanity return to the "adults" who try to make young sexual predators out of boys just having fun??? Can someone tell them to BUTT out and let kids be kids!!!
Reader Comments (102)
Heck, they are little white boys. Slap them on the wrist and let them go home like you usually do. Now, if they were black or hispanic I'd say lock them up and throw away the key because,it is what you usually do. Thank you.
Well, here we go.... A teacher's Aid sees a perfectly normal activity, and decides to make a hero of herself. If she had not, the father of one of the girls would not have been told, which resulted in HIS being offended, and so claims is daughter was offended.
Truth be known, there was NO OFFENSE THERE! Girls have been putting up with 'inappropriate' actions from boys since there have been boys and girls. And the GIRLS can be as nasty as the boys. Just no body ever complains about that.
A couple of days' detention at most is what was called for. These kids have committed NO CRIME!!! In order for there to be a crime there must be KNOWLEDGE of the crime, and INTENT to commit the crime. Neither exists here! They are only 13 years old, for crying out loud..... Shurely they do not deserve to lose their futures to a moment's fun with a practice many others engage in.
I wonder what that teacher's aid has been up to that she needs to direct attention to someone else?
Randy.......
I have a 17 year old boy, who has been being investigated for over 5 months by the state police in MI for allegedly having a consensual relationship with a 15 year old. He has been charged with felony criminal sexual conduct and is facing 15 years in prison and 25 years on the sex offender registry. I know it sounds ludicrous, but it is really happening. The female in question states clearly "she was all for it and wanted to do everything" the mother states that she took her daughter to put her on birth control and found out that her daughter was having sex. These are written statements in the reports.
How can you take your daughter to put her on birth control, then go to the police when she is doing what she needs the birth control for?
How can the prosecutors even begin to follow up on this. I have spent countless sleepless nights, thousands of dollars in defense, and my poor son has nearly had a total nervous breakdown. He had to go to school day after day, just a teenager himself, and face all the teenagers asking questions. The police visiting his friends to find out what "hearsay" they knew. They have lied and devastated his young life. He has a college scholarship, and I don't know if he will be able to use it because, the law has decided to pursue this one case.
Is teenage experimentation really worth all these criminal charges? Aren't we harming our young people more by demonizing their sexual behavior?
I am broken hearted, and broke now, and I don't know what is wrong with our society?
So, when does horseplay become inappropriate behavior? And, when does inappropriate behavior transgress the privacy or rights of others? I can't think of a better time for these young men to learn this.
BRADLEY BERRY NEEDS TO EVALUATE THIS CASE AND REALIZE THESE ARE BOYS AND NOT ADULTS AND USE COMMON SENSE NOT THE LETTER OF THE LAW. APPARENTLY COMMON SENSE RUNS SHORT IN THIS AREA.
It is so sad what this country has come to. i suppose the next thing is boys cant talk to girls because someone won't like the way their talked to. so very sad.
I have a daughter myself & though I would be highly upset if another child came up smacking her on the bottom, I do not feel that making these children register as sex offenders is appropriate. To even put them in a juvinile jail for a period of time (other than the 5 days they spent in there) would be highly inappropriate as well. I believe that the parents & the school should handle this w/o all of the media involved. Really, this is being blown out of proportion and may open doors to even worse things for these boys & possibly the girls that this has happened too. The judge alone should be ashamed- Like there arent thousands of "real sex offenders" still roaming around-- that he has to target children & possibly give such a stiff sentance for smacking someones bottom... Helloooo this is happened in a Junior High School NOT an office setting!
These children can still be molded & influenced . Do you really think that by sending them to a juvinile jail would influence them in a more positive way?? If so, you are sadly mistaken.
I dont know what the problems with LM or Dawn are but they need to check and make sure they have any humanity left....the boys were wrong, the princial was wrong, the police were wrong, and the DA was wrong. I was a victim of very real sexual abuse and I can assure you this doesn't even come close to qualifying as such. This was clearly inapropriate adolescent behavior and should have been dealt with in the school and family setting.
I can't believe Rhonda Pope, one of the girl's mothers actually feels that this is a crime. It appears Ms. Pope does not want to be bothered teaching her daughter how to handle life's problems in a normal way. She would rather call the police in and save herself the trouble of having to be a parent by training her daughter to recognize and deal with what is inappropriate behavior. Mrs, Pope is either a very lazy mother or a woman with a big big chip on her shoulder. Shame on her! mitchrick@comcast.net
--- an FYI for the defense. The Texas Rangers baseball team has a commercial wherein everyone slaps everyone else on the butt in what is implied to be a comradire gesture. Perhaps the prosecution should contact the Texas Atty Gnl and request Texas file sexual misconduct charges on the ad agency, the actors and the team. This sounds an awfull lot like the Duke Univ. Lacross scandal, don't you think???
this happened to my son when he was in the 2nd grade! he was suspended from school. My son is now 15. he's the most decent person you could know. He is slow to even find an interest in girls and I know that at 2nd grade he wasnt feeling sexual toward the girl he slapped on the butt. He is a hard worker, he's honest to a fault. He basically a shy kid but found an outlet by associating with the class clowns. when goofing around on the bus a girl said she went to tell on him..while she walked past his seat he tried to stop her and slapped her ont he butt. He was told this was sexual harrassment. i'm glad that he learned the seriousness of ANY behavior like this; better earlier than later. CRIMINAL....NOT. Dont even get me started about what GIRLS get away with on this subject though..................... I feel sorry for this boy that he is being treated FAR TOO harshly. This should simply be an opportunity to let him know that this subject is one stay clear of in the future...its not a joke. Criminal though...pleaseeeeeeeeeeee. They are making an EXAMPLE ouf of a child....
The boys behavior is inappropriate, but not a crime that should be in the courts. I have two teenage girls the same age as the boys and the school needs to get a better handle on issues going on within its walls. Kids today play many adolescence games in school that are rude and incentive to others. I personally feel the teacher's aid and the faculty at that school should be held responsible for the actions of their students. My wife and I work full time and are active members in our kids school. I feel its very important to be an active member because I hear my children's stories and speak up when issues bother me.
This issue is now a waist of the tax payers dollar.
This is so crazy!! This is another case of our justice system & education system spending to much time on things they "can" fix or take care of easily as opposed to I don't know--keeping true criminals in jail so they don't murder a Doctors family!! These boys would get the message with in school suspension, classes regarding their behavior at their parents expense & Saturday campus clean up. Now they are in front of the media & getting tons of attention..hmmmm
To the Mom who thinks this is a "crime".
No, this is what we in the old days called foolish boys who would have gotten a whoopin by the principal. I have two daughters & I can assure you I would not be happy either, but I would also be realistic & I would make sure the boys personally apologized to my daughter and maybe some of my yard work could get done also. Let's be constructive in teaching our children--don't just throw away the key.
GET REAL
To Maxine,
Your comments are more inappropriate then these boys behavior. Your attitude is the reason we are in this mess. It was not a color issue, though everyone wants to make it that. So from a person other than "white". Knock it off--I will speak for myself thank you very much...idiot
3 day suspension is appropriate, of course not jail, HOWEVER, the boys are not the victims, would the parents of the boys be so quick to dismiss if someone say a teacher or some older boys had been the ones to touch/slap/or fondle THEIR boys. they would prosecute of course and want justice. while this is a juvenile prank it still warrants disipline. what would they want if their child had been violated.?
This is absolutely ridiculous! Why do we turn normal adolescent behavior into something dirty and criminal? These are thrteen year old boys! They are almost expected to behave like this. Sure, if a 25-year-old man slapped a co-worker's butt as he passed her in the hallway, by all means, prosecute him. But 13-year-olds?! We really need to re-evaluate our system. This is getting out of hand!!!
Do school teachers and principals have no authority over their students that they have to call the police about juvenile jerkiness?
The boy leaving court looked pretty smug and without shame in the newsphoto. All that media attention - all on him and his buddy. His parents are distraught. Their son doesn't know what he's in for in jail or on probation, and he and the lawyers will cost them a lot of money and grief.
The girls are either loving the attention ("Hey, I must be sexy if some guy wants to slap my bum.") or hiding under the pillows. ("They must think I'm a slut or they would've respected my right to be touched only by people I want to touch me.") Why couldn't the girls slap the boys faces and tell them to back off? That being in the same class doesn't give them the right to play pattycake before asking the girl if it's all right.
If the kids are not bullies - and unpermitted bum slapping is a sign of the slapper controlling the slappee, therefore bullying and harrassment - they would back off with an apology when the slappee tells him/her off. If the slapper keeps doing it, then the injured party should go to the principal and have the slapper disciplined by the school. The police should be called in only if the problem becomes violent.
The school probably thought the gesture was getting out of control. A lot of kids were bumslapping other kids (as a rough form of tag if not a sexual play) and it was interfering with schoolwork.
Most high school sexplay is semi-clean horseplay but if overindulged could be a sign of something twisted. A man in my area went from looking up girls' skirts in high school and in the library to raping women near bus-stops and murdering his wife's sister and two other young girls. I think if he had been put into a psychiatric program in his teens, those girls may not have died so traumatically. And there was the man who molested those Amish girls because of a sexual incident in his adolescence.
OK... it is time to put the whole football team in jail... coaches too!
"Butt slapping after a great on the field play" ...
I think these charges are absurd! This should have been dealt with at a school level. These are not criminal acts, especailly if this is a "norm" at the school and both sexes are doing this.
The United States has taken sexual abuse to a ridicules level. It is equivalent to the Salem Witch hunt days and having the "scarlet letter" placed on you forever. When I was 16 years old in high school, I often had sex with the girls I dated, the girls wanted it too, they had surging hormones also. We were both under age since most high school kids are under 18. Do schools now need to post warning signs that sex with a classmate could result in jail time? Come on now! Is the next step issuing sex licenses? How about a drivers permit first?
As an adult, I would never be a teacher of kids or be a mentor in the Big Brother program. The reason being, kids today have power over adults like never before. They can say you abused them and ruin your life, even if not true. Kids are now using this tactic with each other, which is sad. All you need to do is give a kid a hug, and you could end up in jail. You can not win in court when you are up against a kid's false testimony. I have chosen to avoid the possible trouble, and as a result society will have one fewer excellent child mentor.
The rest of the world laughs at the United States constant obsession with sex. I laugh at us too, we place too much attention on our groins in this country.
Here's my question: Why are the boys being punished and not the girls? They were running around slapping rears as well. Is it because "girls are just more touchy feely than boys so it's okay" or maybe "well it's kinda cute when they do it". This seems to be a common trend. Look at the overall public attitude toward pretty, young teachers that had sex with their students. What if those teachers had been men, or unattractive women? There would have outrage! The D.A. would have been going apesh!t and made sure they were locked up for life! This is a very similar senario. The behavior was inappropriate, but it should be handled within the school and there is no reason it should be blown out of proportion. THEY ARE KIDS!! This is typical behavior of children that age. I know a lot of guys in middle & high school that would do this same sort of thing, and guess what? THEY AREN'T OUT RAPING PEOPLE!!
I have to agree with Elmer I work in a high school and over the past 22 years I have seen inappropriate behavior from both immature boys and girls but..... I have seen the little girls use the threat of false sexual abuse charges as a weapon as well as seing them actually make false allegations for the sole purpose of punishing another, I have seen this done to both other students as well as school employees. Unfortunatly this has caused a deep skeptisism on my part whenever I am told of a case of so called sexual harrasement or abuse. One really stupid incident happened to my son when he was 12. He had a medical problem resulting in delayed growth and puberty and there was a girl on his bus who delighted in teasing him calling him munchkin, umpa loompa etc. This was all reported to the female bus driver repeatedly and she failed to do anything about it. I also had a call in to the counselor but had not yet heard from him. One day this girl says to the bus in general that she bets my son will never have any hair on his balls... at which point my son responds with yeah and you're a fat ugly bitch. guess what.. he was thrown off the bus for 10 days for his innapropriate behavior suspended from school for 5 days for profanity (Should have been) but when they tried to charge him with sexual harrasement I went ballistic and took it all the way to the school board. He was not charged and the girl was not punished at all. The boys in the story were wrong but I have to say that I see that very behavior every day and I believe it should be dealt with at the school level and across the board, not just aimed at 1 sex.
It seems the consensus is that the punishment so far for these boys has been very extreme and I agree. It's sad that there are some people who'd like to see children locked away in prison for something any mischevious boy or girl would probably do. Yes it was wrong, yes they deserve a punishment such as school detention or suspension, but to be in jail overnight, none the less 5 days is completely absurd.
I have spent four years in prison for NON-SEX RELATED CRIMES, and the thought of holding two young boys in jail for five days for this act is sickening. I didn't even spend five days in jail after beeing arrested, and my crimes were federal felonies.
What these boys did was wrong, and I do not condone it. And it undoubtedbly should be very important to focus on the trauma these young girls could experience. But rest assured, the trauma that these boys endured being locked away will far exceed the trauma these young girls felt by getting there butt slapped.
For the parents to feel anger and want to see these children prosecuted for their acts is somewhat understandable. But, it is very frightening to see some people here seem to have so much anger in them to want to punish these kids to extremes for these acts. It makes you wonder who these people really are?
Butt slapping especially to girls gives them a sexual reaction at least to most. At first it's a embarrassment but later it kindles a warmth.
Wow!!! What mixed comments: some I agreed with, some I didn't.
I am a counselor in a middle school (grades 6 to 8)with over 25 years experience working with "kids" from K to 12th Grade. I teach "Life", preferring Reality Therapy (which means that I don't sit around saying "ummm', "yea'; uh huh", or asking kids how they FEEL about something).
The boys were wrong; ALL of the kids involved in the 'horse-play' of slapping butts were wrong; but believe me, that seems minor to what usually takes place within our public schools throughout this country. Kids at MS or HS age can be pretty mean to each other with the verbal bullying that takes place: some of the nasty, mean comments have had a far more long-lasting effect than being slapped on the butt. Read the profiles about many of the school "shooters" : almost to a person they described how they were tormented, picked on or ostracized by school-mates through mean, vicious verbal attacks.
We live in a society in which it has become far too easy and acceptable to blame others for one's behavior; it is too acceptable to not accept responsibility for one's actions.
One of the REAL issues here is that the school adminstrator LACKED THE COURAGE to handle the situation as a school problem. It was passed on to the school resource officer to be handled as a criminal act. We also live in society in which "common sense" has been replaced by political correctness which has led further to idiotic or asinine (by the way, that word has Nothing to do with the body part in question) policies of 'zero tolerance'. Many issues could be handled easily if people would just think and discuss what happened!!!
Society itself has changed; young people today do not believe that anything that they "DO" is wrong. There is little sense of morality or what is "right or wrong". And we ALL are to blame for that!!!