To and From School

Post from http://www.keepschoolssafe.org/

I don’t mean to sound like an alarmist here but I thought that I should write something about the news reports that I have been reading about incidents near Vista High School in San Diego, California. According to the reports, several men have been trying to sexually assault school girls in the vicinity of the said school. Here is a snippet from Sign On San Diego:

A Vista High School student who was walking to school Wednesday morning was hit by a man who attempted to sexually assault her, and the man had approached another girl moments earlier, the Sheriff’s Department said yesterday.

The 14-year-old Vista student was walking on a dirt path near East Indian Rock Road and Cananea Street about 7 a.m. when the man approached her and asked for a cigarette lighter, Norton said. When she said she did not have one, the man engaged her in conversation, then became forceful and told her to remove her pants, the detective said.

The man tackled her and punched her in the face, Norton said. He fled when he heard people approaching.The victim had a bloody nose and minor facial bruises but was not sexually assaulted, Norton said.

Just before the Vista attack, a man of the same description approached a 15-year-old girl in the same spot on the path and also asked for a lighter, Norton said. He talked to the girl for a while and asked for her phone number. She felt uncomfortable and left, Norton said.

The attacker was described as 17 to 23 years old, white or Latino, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds, with hazel eyes. He was wearing blue jeans and a brown hooded sweat shirt.

Aside from these attacks, there was another incident in another area, this time in Lakeside, where a 15-year-old girl was walking to El Capitan High School. This incident involved a man stalking the girl in his car, repeatedly asking her to get in the car. She ran to a nearby 711 and alerted the authorities when the man got out of the car and put his hand on her shoulder.

This kind of news sickens me, it really does. These men are preying on the youth, who have their whole lives ahead of them. How do we stop them? Perhaps by being vigilant and teaching our kids to be the same way. If you see or observe anything remotely suspicious, make sure that you immediately alert authorities – better safe than sorry.