Teenager held in sex assault on boy

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

A 14-year-old boy sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy at the Gibson Elementary School playground shortly after classes ended May 13, Henderson Police said.

The alleged assault occurred on the playground of the school on Leisure Circle between 3:40 and 4 p.m., Henderson Police spokesman Officer Shane Lewis said.

The teen, a special education student at a district middle school, was arrested the next afternoon in the vicinity of the school and was charged with one count of sexual assault, Lewis said. The boy was being held at Clark County Juvenile Hall Tuesday, authorities said.

The younger child's mother was apparently nearby at the time of the alleged attack, unaware of what was happening, Lewis said.

Henderson police are handling the investigation because it involves charges of felony sexual assault. Clark County School Police are authorized only to investigate misdemeanors.

Preliminary reports suggest the older boy frequented Silver Springs Park, which is adjacent to the school grounds, so he may have crossed from there to the school, Lewis said.

Even with the gates locked, it's possible for someone to slip through gaps in the fencing and enter the playground after school hours, Gibson's principal, Diane Reitz, said Tuesday. School staff members occasionally find graffiti and litter in the morning hours that appears to have been left overnight, she said.

Edward Goldman, superintendent for the district's southeast region, said while the incident was "very upsetting" he didn't believe it reflected negatively on overall campus safety.

"Unfortunately there's almost always a way to get onto school grounds after the school day ends, despite our best intentions," Goldman said Tuesday. "This has no connection to the school, or anything the school did or didn't do."

In the 2001-02 academic year, 6,849 violence acts toward students were reported districtwide, 261 of which occurred at elementary schools, according to district records. How many of those incidents occurred after regular school hours was not immediately known.

In a letter to Gibson parents dated May 16, Reitz said there had been a "recent incident" on the school playground and she told parents it had happened at 4:30 p.m., which is at least 30 minutes later than the time of occurrence cited by police.

"It serves to remind us of the need to ensure that your child is always adequately supervised," Reitz wrote.

Reitz also reiterated an earlier reminder to parents not to allow their children to play without supervision in Henderson's Silver Springs city park before or after the school day.