In Longwood, Florida, a Seminole County suburb of Orlando, 12-year-old Breana Evans was suspended from her middle school and subsequently arrested after she pinched a boy’s butt at her middle school. As a result, Evans was booked into the juvenile system and could face misdemeanor battery charges.
In an interview with Orlando’s News 6, Evans said that she was playing a game that’s popular at her school. The game, apparently, involves grabbing classmates’ butts and laughing at their reaction. Evans said that she believed the game to be a joke. The boy, who has not come forward, reported the incident to school administration and Evans was suspended. News 6 indicates that, at the time, the school resource officer asked the boy if he wanted to press charges and he declined. Evans did not know the boy.
According to the arrest report, the boy’s mother called deputies a week after Evans grabbed her son and filed a battery complaint. Deputies obviously agreed that the “game” merited the charges and arrested Evans earlier this week.
In the televised interview, Evans said that she regretted pinching the boy because “I didn’t know it would lead to this.” “I feel like it’s just stupid, just a stupid charge that shouldn’t have to happen,” she added. Evans’ father was also defensive, telling News 6 that he daughter was acting as 12-year-olds apparently do:
“Lord lord lordy what has this world come to — kids can’t even be a kid and that’s basically what it is — she’s 12 years old she was acting like a 12-year-old child.”
Her father added that he was “sorry that my kid touched your kid,” but that the boy’s mother was “overreacting.”
The Seminole County state attorney told News 6 that if Evans completed a diversion program (a pre-trial intervention that can consist of counseling and education), completed her community service, and passed drug tests, the charge would be dismissed.
Screenshot via News 6.