School official calls alleged rape just “hormones gone wild”

A 14-year old boy in Contra Costa County, California is going to be tried for raping a 12-year old girl in the stairwell of a middle school. The police and prosecutors say they have enough evidence to proceed with a criminal case. Why, then, is a school supervisor speaking out (somewhat in defense of the principal and vice-principal, who were suspended) saying that what happened wasn’t a rape but just a case of “hormones gone wild”?

“They’re calling it a rape when it wasn’t really a rape,” Portola Middle School Site Supervisor Mustapha Cannon told reporters Tuesday morning. “When this is all over with I want to see if I can get a public apology for my principal, who is my friend, and my vice-principal, who is my friend who aren’t at work right now. Some kids are not as popular as other kids. You have a girl that’s not as popular as some of the girls. You have a guy who is not as popular with some of the guys and the girls. It was hormones gone wild.” (Emphasis mine)

Seriously? Maybe there’s another school official who should be suspended. It scares me to think that there are people out there – people who have control over children’s lives – who could be so dismissive towards sexual assault and straight-up victim blame in this way.

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