Don’t Let Rumors Lead To Lynch Mob

Heaven help any 11-year-old boy enrolling at Prairie View Elementary during the next few weeks. He will face intense scrutiny and possible misunderstanding.

Schoolmates and their parents will wonder: Is he the one? The next Kevin Coe? The next Ted Bundy?

Rumors are swirling about a mysterious young “sex offender” who’s moving from the Spokane area to enroll in the Post Falls school. Parents are threatening to remove their children from school if he does.

The man most in the know about the situation - Sgt. Ron Etheridge of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department - says Post Falls parents are going off “half-cocked.” He’s right.

Prairie View patrons need to calm down. Their “Chicken Little” mentality probably is upsetting their children and could harm a child who may - or may not - have a serious behavioral problem.

Innocence still is presumed in this country - especially for a child who hasn’t been convicted or even charged with anything. If there isn’t enough evidence to file a criminal charge against him, is there enough information to justify lynch-mob paranoia?

We do know a few things about the boy.

Spokane authorities don’t consider the youngster a risk to the public. Unlike Idaho, the state of Washington allows police to notify schools and neighborhoods of high-risk sex offenders. The pre-teen hasn’t reached the lowest of three levels of juvenile sexual offenders watched by police.

We also know that Post Falls Superintendent Richard Harris has promised to provide a safe environment at Prairie View. The district can soothe fears further by meeting with parents to describe how it deals with students who have behavioral problems.

Kids who misbehave sexually exist in every school district. Ask any teacher. They range from juveniles who do goofy things upon reaching puberty to abused children who act out their abuse and finally to the truly dangerous predator.

Parents should know if hard-core offenders are attending school with their children. And Idaho law should be changed to mirror Washington’s so they will.

Understandably, Prairie View parents are concerned by the rumors. But they’re only rumors. Justice should be left in the hands of those with the facts. There is no reason to think schools and police can’t handle this situation as they have handled others that never became the subject of rumor.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board