Published: September 18, 2008 04:36 pm         

Middle school prank results in criminal charges

A painful prank at Goshen Middle School this week resulted in 19 students being tested for contagious diseases and three of those students facing criminal charges.

Police, health and school officials called local reporters together Thursday afternoon to explain the bizarre incident.

According to those officials, three eighth-grade boys used four blood-testing lancets, used by diabetics, to prick about 16 other students during lunch Tuesday. The victims were pricked on their arms and legs and one students was stuck in the stomach, according to Goshen police.

Now the victims are waiting for medical tests to return and the three perpetrators are facing criminal battery charges and expulsion from the school of 1,400 students.

Goshen police officer Kevin Miller is the resource officer for the students. He said the incident was a case of the three young friends not thinking clearly.

“It was just something they decided to do and it was poor judgment,” he said.

Their poor judgment is costing the taxpayers, according to Elkhart County Health Department Director Aixsa Perez.

“They are not cheap,” she said of the health screenings given to the victims and the perpetrators.

Those blood tests will check the students for possible HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections. Fortunately, according to Perez, all the victims tested so far have up-to-date vaccinations for the hepatitis strains.

But it will be three months before everyone involved will know for sure if students were infected. Perez said that’s when follow-up blood tests will be taken to check for changes in the students’ blood chemistry.

Two of the alleged perpetrators were released to their parents Thursday and one remains in juvenile detention. Police said the reason for the detention was the number of students stuck by the boy and other factors not related to the incident.

Goshen police Adjutant Joe Brown said one of the perpetrators obtained the lancets from his father’s girlfriend, who is diabetic. Perez said the boy told health officials that the lancets had not been used by the owner.

Perez said the Health Department and hospital have protocols in place for mass testing of people, and that system was activated. She said two registered nurses, two technicians and two assistants were involved in the testing.

Superintendent Bruce Stahly said the three perpetrators will be suspended until expulsion hearings can be held.

Stahly said school officials began to unravel what happened when one victim told a teacher Tuesday. The teacher took the student to the office and the investigation was begun.

Parents of students identified as victims Tuesday were called and notified of the incident. More victims were discovered Wednesday and parents of those students were notified. Also, school officials sent out letters by mail to all parents to explain what happened. Once parents learned of the incident, they began asking questions. Principal Ann Eaton said three sixth-grade parents asked if their children were safe at the school.

“It took some time to convince them their students are safe,” she said of the conversations.

“We still do not know if additional students will come forward yet,” Stahly said.

Eaton said that two more possible victims were identified Thursday.

She said all the students at the middle school will get education on communicable diseases because of this incident. She said the information will be provided in small groups.

Police said the prosecutor's office is reviewing their report to see if additional charges will be filed against the three boys.