Juveniles charged in school violence
Prosecutor's Office investigates incidents at Matawan Avenue
BY MICHELLE ROSENBERG
Staff Writer

Two students at the Matawan Avenue Middle School, Aberdeen, are feeling the wrath of their alleged violent behavior.

A 12-year-old boy who allegedly slammed another 12-year-old boy on his head has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault, and is currently on house arrest, Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Barry Serebnick said.

Serebnick said that according to witnesses, the juvenile defendant allegedly picked up the victim and either dropped or threw him on his head during an incident that occurred at the Aberdeen school on May 6.

An ambulance was called to the scene and the victim was taken to the hospital. He has since been released and is continuing his education, Serebnick said.

The accused juvenile was arrested and later released to a guardian pending a court proceeding, which will probably happen within the next two weeks, Serebnick said.

Serebnick said that incidents like this, in which charges are filed, are not that common among school-age children.

Superintendent of Schools Bruce Quinn said that he is unable to comment on the situation now that the Prosecutor's Office is involved.

Quinn did say that he spent last weekend on the phone with the police and members of the district trying to get to the bottom of the situation.

In another incident that happened on the May 5, one boy was suspended from school for putting another student in a headlock.

Quinn said that a misunderstanding between the assistant principal of the school and the victim's parent led to the incident not being reported.

He said that the assistant principal alerted the parent to the situation and told her that she could sign a juvenile complaint against the accused if she wanted to. Quinn said the parent left the impression that she wouldn't sign a complaint, therefore, the assistant principal didn't report the incident to the district or to the police.

The parent ended up signing a complaint with the police department later that night.

"We don't sweep things under the rug," Quinn said.

He said that whenever you have middle school age groups, there are going to be incidents in which they behave in an inappropriate manner and don't make the best decisions.

"I don't believe that our middle school has any more incidents than any other middle school," Quinn said.

Quinn also said that there was no more violence this year than any other previous year.

He said that as soon as the district becomes aware of any situation, they do what they have to do to get to the bottom of it.