Round Lake District 116 chief: Exposure incident handled properly

Round Lake Area Unit District 116's top administrator says he's satisfied with how officials reacted when they learned three sixth-grade boys had exposed themselves to girls during the school day.

District 116 Chief Executive Officer Ben Martindale said he met Monday with staff at John T. Magee Middle School in Round Lake, where police said the incidents began perhaps up to two months ago.

Martindale said children should have a sense of safety at school. He said District 116 officials view the Magee incidents as serious.

"It was troubling in the sense there were young students who were victims of the inappropriate behavior of other kids," Martindale said Tuesday.

Round Lake police said all three boys were referred to Lake County juvenile prosecutors on disorderly conduct charges March 25. Two of the boys also were referred to juvenile court on battery charges.

Police were contacted by a parent after the last incident on March 18. The case against the boys was pursued after police consulted with Lake County juvenile prosecutors.

Martindale said the boys, who have been removed from the District 116 system, exposed themselves to three girls when the sixth-grade classes were in a transition period. He said the incidents went undetected by teachers.

On March 18, said Martindale, one or more of the girls reported the boys' actions to officials at Magee, which serves children in grades six through eight.

The mother of one of the victims criticized Magee administrators for delaying several hours and not reporting the incidents to Round Lake police before the parent did. However, Martindale said the school acted quickly.

"We didn't wait and say, 'We'll look into this,' and wait for the next day or the next week," said Martindale.

Susan Fineran, a University of Southern Maine associate professor who studies peer sexual harassment and bullying in schools, said boys accused of exposing themselves to girls in sixth grade is extreme behavior.

"The fact it was repetitive was more damaging to the girls because it disrupted their educations," said Fineran, who's research includes the 2008 study "Comparing the Impact of Bullying and Sexual Harassment Victimization on the Mental and Physical Health of Adolescents."

Fineran's report showed 35 percent of 522 pupils ages 11 to 18 claimed they had experienced some type of sexual harassment at school. She said schools should address sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior in training with young students.

Martindale said the District 116 board intends to review the boys' situation at a meeting next week.