Boy, 12, with special needs arrested for inappropriate touching

PORTER, TX (KTRK) -- Parents of a 12-year-old special education student are outraged after their son was arrested at middle school and spent the night in juvenile detention.

It happened in Porter, Texas, after the boy allegedly touched a girl in an inappropriate place.

When is a touch a criminal act? That's the question people are asking after a 12-year-old special education student touched a girl's private areas.

Fred Lillie says his son was treated like a criminal at White Oak Middle School.

"It's going too far, like I said, my son is 12," Lillie said. "Handcuffed and on his way to jail, a 12-year-old seventh grader."

It happened Wednesday at a school in Porter, Texas. The 12-year-old, who has trouble socializing with his peers, is accused of approaching a group of girls on the playground and touching one of them below the belt in the front of her pants.

It set off a chain of events that saw the boy fingerprinted at school, then put behind bars in juvenile detention overnight.

Lillie said, "It's sad because it shouldn't have happened. I mean, I know my son, my son had no intent that way."

According to the boy's parents, the child has a written Behavior Intervention Plan that was not followed by the school. The parents contend the plan requires the boy have adult supervision which did not happen Wednesday.

The boy is facing charges of indecency with a child. The family's lawyer says the offending touch may have been inappropriate but it was not a criminal offense.

Attorney Andrea Kolski said, "This could have been handled in another way and certainly there is a legal process where the family could have summoned to court and this poor 12-year-old with special education needs, who is learning disabled, who has other behavioral issues would not have had to go through the trauma of spending essentially two days in jail."

Parents we spoke with are spilt on whether school officials did their job or went too far.

"I think it was an overreaction, honestly, and if you know the child, he is not that type of boy," said parent Nakita Newsome.

Parent Gary Lester added, "I don't think they should lock him away forever, but it definitely needs to be fixed. If that was my kid I would want some kind of severe punishment for that person."

The boy was released to his parents Thursday, but they tell us he will not be returning to classes at this school and it's now up to the County Attorney to figure out if the child will face criminal charges.

New Caney ISD issued the following statement: