Seven Year Old in Florida Portrayed As Criminal

Rampant media outlets have been reporting on the premeditated robbery occurring on school property at Pines Elementary in Pembroke Pines, Florida. In the days following the Thanksgiving holiday, reports had gone as far as to allege that the perpetrator had threatened to shoot potential witnesses to death. In reality, the so-called "assailant" had just turned seven years old and was merely playing with friends.
Shunned by the community, the concerned parents confronted the media head-on and sought legal assistance to set the record straight.

Upon meeting with the mother and her son and hearing their account, it quickly became apparent that the media's initial perspective was laden with untruths and explosive exaggerations. Throughout that first meeting, all were amazed at how well-behaved the child was. "Clearly there has been some distortion of the facts here. This child has been raised by good parents. He is the most obedient and polite child that I have ever met", stated his attorney, William Moore. Reports state that the criminal act occured in the restroom of Pines Lake elementary just before Thanksgiving and wasn't reported for a full five days. No mention of this "robbery" was ever made by any of the children present, and not one faculty member observed anything out of the ordinary on the day of the alleged crime.

All the same, school policy madated that the first grade suspect be suspended for up to 15 days. "The actions of the Broward County School Board were absolutely appropriate at that point", stated Moore. "The faculty had very little information at that juncture, Broward policy is very clear in this regard".

removing the child from school temporarily is one thing. Expulsion and criminal prosecution is quite yet another. Following the alleged assault, it was widely reported that the first grader would be expelled from his Broward County elementary school. One report emphasized that the boy would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, despite the fact that statements by all of the eye-witnesses were inconsistent.

"Ultimately, the school found that expulsion was not warranted and I commend all of the Board members involved. They did not allow the media to affect their judgment in the least. Assistant Director Pamela A. Brown has shown exemplary leadership in protecting not only her students, but also my client, while she sorted this mess out", stated Moore. "She was not influenced by an overblown media."

All reports have since been turned over to the State's Attorney. A prosecuting attorney in juvenile crimes department assigned to the jurisdiction expressed concern that a child of this age may not be able to follow through with such an act. He further stated that charges would be unlikely. The fact that the incident wasn't reported timely, coupled with inconsistent witness statements prevent good fsith prosecution. A seven years old simply does not posess this kind of criminal mind, stated the chief prosecutor.

On Monday, December 15th, the Accused, his lawyer and his mother went before the Pembroke Pines School Board to plea the case against expulsion. In less than one hour, all parties agreed that such a sanction was to be denied, as reported by the Sun Sentinel. "This thing was blown so out of proportion. It's refreshing to see at least one newspaper put an end to all of the negative publicity in their latest report of the incident" claimed one advocate.


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Anne-Marie Kopek has worked for FOX Sports Net and Conde Nast. She is an advocate for the rights of citizens and protector of our vanishing constitutional rights. To contact Anne-Marie Kopek, please visit: The Florida Criminal Defense Advocate