Pupil Held In Assault At Barratt

It's happened again.

A 12-year-old female student at the Barratt Middle School was inappropriately touched by a fellow 14-year-old male student on Friday, police said.

The boy was arrested and police expect to charge him with indecent assault and simple assault, investigators said.

The Police Department's Special Victims Unit is investigating the incident, which occurred about 11:30 a.m. as the two students, who knew each other, walked to lunch in a school hallway, said police spokeswoman Carmen Torres.

Somehow, the girl fell to the floor and, when she did, the boy reached down and touched her buttocks, thigh and breast, Torres said. School District officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Barratt has been the scene of sex-related attacks in the past. A 12-year-old sixth grade girl was raped in the South Philadelphia school last month. Two 12-year-old boys were charged.

In February 1997, two boys raped a mentally retarded girl behind a room divider in a Barratt classroom that was being supervised by a substitute teacher.