Bristol Township police talking to boys in school fondling charges

Bristol Township police plan to talk to a several boys from Lafayette Elementary School who allegedly sexually harassed and inappropriately touched six girls earlier this year, and charges could result, school district officials said.

In a letter sent home yesterday to all parents in the Bucks County school, Lafayette Elementary principal James Moore said that the police "have decided to talk further with a small group of boys who have been implicated. Citations may result, according to the police officer who conducted the initial inquiries."

Township police officer Tiffany D'Emidio said yesterday that she could not comment, except to say that the matter is "under investigation."

Monique Modeste, the mother of one of the girls, said yesterday that "I'm glad to see this being taken seriously - finally. . . . These girls and all girls in the school need to know that its OK to be free to speak up when something is wrong."

The issue surfaced on Feb. 7 when the mother of a sixth grade girl in the 355-student kindergarten-to-sixth grade school learned that a male classmate of her daughter's had torn the girl's sweater while grabbing for her breasts. Her complaint to Moore that seven or eight boys were inappropriately touching a group of girls triggered a district inquiry.

Other girls and their parents subsequently reported inappropriate touching of the girls on the buttocks, breasts and crotch taking place on the playground at recess, in school hallways and in classrooms since late last year.

The district has not identified any of the students. The Inquirer is withholding students' names because of the nature of the alleged incidents.

Moore gave two of the boys two-day in-school suspensions. He said he would reopen the matter if the more serious allegations that were made about the boys' conduct after his initial investigation were true.

Moore said in the letter to parents yesterday that a victims' assistance group has been called in to talk to all the girls involved and counselors would be speaking to all fifth and sixth graders about bullying and sexual harassment.