Teenage girls intentionally expose allergic classmate to pineapple

[Shadoewolf]

http://wkbn.com/2018/01/26/3-pa-teens-charged-with-purposely-exposing-classmate-to-pineapple/

Essentially these girls knew a classmate had an allergy to pineapple, one purposely rubbed it all over her hands then high-fived the girl with the allergy. They're being charged with a felony, but the accused girl's dad is her lawyer and is saying it was just a prank.

This from the Post-Gazette...  

“The pineapple was not illegally brought in. It’s not a weapon. It’s not any of those things. It’s a fruit cup. And can you intentionally and knowingly kill somebody with a fruit cup? I don’t think adults could make that decision let alone 14 year olds,” said Attorney Mike Santicola.
Mr. Santicola said HIS DAUGHTER and her friends appear to be overcharged.
“Fourteen year old girls. I liken this to a prank and a prank does not rise to the level of intentionally harming somebody where they can they can die,” said Mr. Santicola told KDKA.

[SPHASH]

What an asshole.  And his daughter is a cunt for doing that.

[Melissa1977]

I think the difference about if it's a fellony or "just" a punisheable prank depends  on their knowledge about the level of their classmate allergy. 

For example, there's a boy in my kid's class who has a extreme egg allergy. Teachers must keep an adrenaline injection for if he has an allergy stroke at school, or he can even die!. If a kid intentionally touches him with egg (or food made with eggs) it would be a fellony. 

But there are also kids with lower allergies, that cannot kill them. Touching them with these foods can be considered fellony? Or just a prank that needs to be punished in some way?

Just wondering.

[Jellybean]

The report stated that the girl went into anaphylactic shock but was treated and is ok. 

Ok physically, at least. It’s really hard for children with severe allergies to transition to independence (from caregivers taking all responsibility) and school should be a relatively safe place to learn to do that. I can only imagine the effects this could have on this person’s ability to cope with touching other people and otherwise interacting. 

This could have ended very differently and I’m sorry that at least one parent seems to be excusing it as a harmless prank. 

I don’t know how I feel about it being prosecuted as a felony but I would certainly want it taken seriously by the school and parents.

[HermioneSparrow]

Excuses. I hope it's treated as a felony... When I was working as a teacher some kids did the exact same thing to a teacher who was allergic to strawberries, it was treated as a felony. Horrible parent making excuses for his horrible kid, prosecute their asses!

[nastyhobbitses]

2 hours ago, SPHASH said:

What an asshole.  And his daughter is a cunt for doing that.

Nah, she's not a cunt. She lacks the warmth and depth. She's a taint.

Also, I hope the girl she did this to presses civil charges if Daddy Lawyer manages to make criminal charges not stick. Fuck this girl and her asshole dad. 

[FundieFarmer]

Except...sometimes pranks ARE deadly, totally on accident. Just google “deadly prank” and thousands of hits come up. People get seriously hurt because of this tomfoolery all the time. So that’s a shitty argument if you ask me.

And, another google search pulled up a 2003 article stating that at that time, 11% of kids have experienced intentional poisoning by allergies. So, you know, sure adults make that decision.

I hope Santicola gets railed in court, not only because he did a shitty job raising his daughter but also because 2 google searches pulled apart that statement so honestly get your shit together.

[FloraKitty35]

Mr. Santicola probably believes in "personal responsibility". 

[FundieFarmer]

Mr. Santicola probably believes in "personal responsibility". 

If that’s the case I’d love to see the dayghter take responsibility for this one.

[Terrie]

One article I read said the allergy is severe enough that the school bans pineapple. No way these kids didn't know how serious it was.

[samurai_sarah]

Yeah, no, that's not a prank. A prank is making someone sit on a fart cushion, or some such harmless thing. But something that ends with bodily harm is not a prank. And an allergic reaction, no matter how mild, is harm.

I'm mildly allergic to a thing or two. The reactions I get aren't anything to write home about, as long as I'm healthy. It's all discomfort and an irritant. I would still not just shrug it off, if someone knowingly brought me into contact with those substances, as a prank. No matter how mild my reactions are, they're still making me physically suffer for a laugh. 

What is worse is that the person or persons pranking me have no way of knowing how badly I will react. They are risking lives. People usually don't go around and explain their allergies in detail, but will just say "I'm allergic to X". Mostly you don't know if they'll get an irritating rash, a case of the runs or go into anaphylactic shock.

And then there is the fact that an irritating reaction goes away, but a breach of trust? Your classmates risked killing you for a laugh?

In terms of charging the perpetrators, I think they should be punished, but their young age should be taken into account.

[Jellybean]

I have a disorder that causes severe anaphylactic reactions to a whole catalogue of things. I spent a lot of time in hospital as I gained independence from my parents and especially when I left home. It’s so easy to trigger a reaction accidentally (using a cup that had been washed with a cloth that someone else had previously used to wash something to which I’m allergic, using butter that someone had used with a knife that had touched peanut butter, just to name two examples). I can’t even imagine what it does to a person to know that any fellow human could cause that deliberately.

Not everyone experiences this with anaphylaxis, but I’m told it’s fairly common - I get a ‘sense of impending doom’ - they think it may be something to do with blood pressure dropping rapidly or a lack of oxygen to the brain. It’s not like panic; it’s worse than that. Calmer. A detached sense of ‘this is it’ - it doesn’t matter how many times it happens, it doesn’t get easier, for me at least. 

Whatever the outcome of this trial, I hope it’s enough to give this young woman confidence that (in addition to her own strength) there are people around her who will protect her, save her when necessary, and fight against those who would do her harm.

 

[purjolok84]

It's very cold and deliberate to use someone's weakness against them - one that can KILL them.

These girls are bullies and if they truly didn't have death in mind, they probably thought 'she'll be fine! She'll probably have meds or an epi-pen with her - no problem!' Nevermind planning ahead for unavailable meds, severity of anaphylactic attack, how quick it comes, whether one epi-pen is enough or another is needed etc. Kids don't think ahead.

I think felony charges are more than appropriate - if these were adults poisoning a colleage at work there would be no question of charging them.

[Jellybean]

I think you’re right - the more I think about it and the more I’ve read people’s responses, the more I think prosecution isn’t going overboard.

part of my initial response might be because I already feel guilty that people have to change their behaviour to keep me safe and I try not to add to that, even to the point of feeling apologetic for having an allergic reaction. That was wrong of me.

I'm seriously disappointed in the lawyer parent. I hope that all the other parents are shocked and scared by the seriousness of this premeditated attack, and that attitude is clearly communicated to all the students at the school, and that the lawyer parent has serious chats to their daughter in private (when not in public-facing-lawyer mode) about how appalling her behaviour was and how easily they could have been facing murder charges.

[Briefly]

Being the mother of a daughter who is considered highly allergic, what those girls did is nothing short of attempted murder.  They may not have thought about it that way, but that could well have been the result. There is no excuse and they should have to face some sort of punishment.

[samurai_sarah]

14 hours ago, Jellybean said:

(snip)

part of my initial response might be because I already feel guilty that people have to change their behaviour to keep me safe and I try not to add to that, even to the point of feeling apologetic for having an allergic reaction. That was wrong of me.

(snip)

Please, don't ever feel guilty or apologise. It's not like you chose to be allergic to randomly inconvenience people for your own amusement! Allergies are serious!

And please, don't feel that it was wrong of you to feel bad for inconveniencing others with your allergies. Really, don't. Your kindness and humanity is showing!

Seriously though, you're a wonderful person for even thinking about that, when others might think of their own inconvenience over your life. I personally consider it a privilege to be "inconvenienced" by you, and people like you.

[Alisamer]

14 hours ago, Jellybean said:

I'm seriously disappointed in the lawyer parent. I hope that all the other parents are shocked and scared by the seriousness of this premeditated attack, and that attitude is clearly communicated to all the students at the school, and that the lawyer parent has serious chats to their daughter in private (when not in public-facing-lawyer mode) about how appalling her behaviour was and how easily they could have been facing murder charges.

I 100% agree. Kids with allergies have died from less exposure than that, and it was nothing less than attempted murder. That's a prank in the same way russian roulette is a prank. These kids definitely need to be punished, and also get some sort of counseling and education about what they've done as well. Their age must be taken into account, but the fact is if they were only a year or two older and the girl had died, they would quite possibly have been tried as adults, and there's no question their "prank" was premeditated. 

If I was the allergic child's parent, I'd be suing the pants off the lawyer's family at least, because it sounds like he needs a reality check as well.

[AmazonGrace]

I don't think you should be your own kids' defense attorney. If they're innocent you risk endangering the defense by getting mad emotional about it and if they're guilty you're encouraging bad behavior which may ruin them in the long run.  You can't  argue in court that they didn't do the bad things they did and teach them discipline, values, boundaries and consequences at the same time.

What a horrible breach of trust for the victim.  I somehow doubt this was the first time they bullied and tortured her.

[Terrie]

Where are people getting that the lawyer commenting was a parent? What I read was as follows

Quote

“The pineapple was not illegally brought in. It’s not a weapon. It’s not any of those things. It’s a fruit cup. And can you intentionally and knowingly kill somebody with a fruit cup? I don’t think adults could make that decision let alone 14 year olds,” said Attorney Mike Santicola. Santicola is not connected to this case in any way. But he agreed to offer his legal expertise for the story. 

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2018/01/25/butler-high-school-pineapple-assault/

[AuntKrazy]

Because we have a system that thrives on plea agreements (the vast majority of cases never go to jury), I would tend to think that the charges are not "overcharged" at all. 

 

[Shadoewolf]

The Post Gazette made a mistake. I had quoted the original story they ran...

[Terrie]

@Shadoewolf Ah, that makes sense! Thanks fro clarifying. 

[Jellybean]

Thank you @Shadoewolf - I’m so glad to see that was a mistake. It seemed like an awful conflict of interest for a parent to have to play both roles - the parent who needed to express the seriousness of the actions and outcomes to their daughter, and the lawyer who needed to publicly challenge the charges against his client.

[NotQuiteMotY]

On 1/28/2018 at 3:58 PM, Jellybean said:

Not everyone experiences this with anaphylaxis, but I’m told it’s fairly common - I get a ‘sense of impending doom’ - they think it may be something to do with blood pressure dropping rapidly or a lack of oxygen to the brain. It’s not like panic; it’s worse than that. Calmer. A detached sense of ‘this is it’ - it doesn’t matter how many times it happens, it doesn’t get easier, for me at least. 

It's common enough that my allergist told me to use the Epi-pen if I feel that way and there's a chance I was exposed to my allergen.

I can't decide how I feel about this. Yeah, teenagers can be stupid and not think through the consequences, but this was thought out enough to make sure she had pineapple on hand. There needs to be some kind of repercussion. Maybe reckless endangerment instead of attempted murder?

[Jellybean]

That’s really interesting! I’ve only ever had that feeling in relation to anaphylaxis so I guess that would make it a good indicator. My blood pressure and oxygen levels drop from other causes and I’ve never had the ‘impending doom’ feeling then, so I think the cause might be something different, but still a good marker. I wish you good health and that you never need to use those epi-pens!