Most girls kept quiet, some afraid of being called "snitches." The issue surfaced when a mother said she learned that a boy had torn her daughter's sweater while grabbing the girl's breasts.
She complained on Feb. 7 and triggered a district inquiry that led to two boys being placed on a two-day in-school suspension.
Parents say that's not enough, and they want the principal to hold an all-school meeting to address the situation.
Touching, grabbing or pinching in a sexual way is a common problem in schools, especially among middle-school students, and should be addressed through discussions and programs, national experts said.
At Lafayette Elementary, principal James Moore said the suspensions were handed out before more serious allegations about genital touching had surfaced. If they turn out to be true, he said, he will reopen the matter. "I was shocked," he said. "It would never have dawned on me that this is the kind of behavior that these kids that I know" would engage in.
Meanwhile, some of the parents have taken their complaints to Bristol police, who are expected to meet today with one of the girls, her parents and district officials. The girl has been out of school since Feb. 7, when her parents learned of the incidents.
Moore said last week that the matter was still under review. He said the seven or eight boys whom the girls named had admitted to the "slapping of the butt, grabbing of the butt and touching of breasts" that the girls said had taken place.
The parents of several girls who have said they were touched, however, said they wanted Moore to do much more, much faster. "I want to know why there wasn't an emergency assembly of the whole school the next Monday, saying 'this is going on, this is unacceptable,' " Angelique Rivera said.
So far, Moore has sent out a letter only to sixth-grade parents, informing them about "unfortunate incidents" during recess.
