Better Believe It......Because They Actually Happen(ed) Collection 68
4 Las Vegas teens agree to plead guilty as juveniles in deadly beating of high school student


FILE - A memorial for Jonathan Lewis Jr. is set up in an alleyway near Rancho High School in eastern Las Vegas, Nov. 21, 2023. Four high school students have agreed to plead guilty in juvenile court to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of Lewis in a plea deal that will keep them from being tried as adults, lawyers said during a hearing Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ty O’Neil, File)


By Scott Sonner And Ken Ritter


LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four Las Vegas teenagers accused in the fatal beating of their high school classmate have agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in a deal that will keep them from being tried as adults, lawyers said Thursday.

The teens originally were charged in January as adults with second-degree murder and conspiracy in the November death of 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. Cellphone video of the fatal beating was shared across social media.

The deal announced during a hearing Thursday before Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones calls for the four to be sent to juvenile court and face an undetermined length of imprisonment in a juvenile detention center. The deal was first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Should any of the teens back out of the deal, then all four would again be charged in adult court, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said.

“The offer is contingent on everyone’s acceptance,” Giordani said.

The Associated Press is not naming the students because they were juveniles at the time of the Nov. 1, 2023, attack.

The four were among nine teenagers who were arrested in Lewis’ death. Lewis was attacked on Nov. 1 just off the campus of Rancho High School where all were students. Authorities have said the students agreed to meet in the alley to fight over a vape pen and wireless headphones that had been stolen from Lewis’ friend. Lewis died from his injuries six days later.

Full story at The Associated Press (August 2024)



Headless body found in Alor Gajah confirmed to be that of teacher missing since December


A condolence message is posted on an educators’ page over confirmation of Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi’s death. — Picture from Facebook/Pendidik2U


By Justin Ong


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — A 33-year-old teacher named Istiqomah Ahmad Rozi has been identified as the person whose headless body was found in Alor Gajah, Melaka, in December, ending an eight-month mystery over the matter.

According to Alor Gajah district police chief Superintendent Ashari Abu Samah, a DNA test returned a conclusive match with relatives of the teacher reported missing on December 27, 2023.

He said a joint investigation by the Criminal Investigation Departments (CID) from Melaka and Johor also turned up two suspects, a couple aged 36 and 37, in the murder.

“This couple was arrested in Chemor, Perak, and the investigation carried out on the two individuals has led to the discovery of parts of the body including finger bones and parts of the head not far from the location where the body parts were found in a distance of about five to six kilometres from the first place where the victim's body was found,” he said in a statement reported by Sinar Harian today.

Ashari said Istiqomah’s three children are also believed to be acquainted with the couple.

The police official said the two were in remand, but an extension would be sought to hold them for further investigations today.

Full story at Malay Mail (August 2024)



New Charges for Wisc. Teacher Accused of 'Making Out' with 11-Year-Old Boy


Madison Bergmann, 24, of Wisconsin, is accused of kissing a fifth grader after school and during lunch, according to a criminal complaint

By KC Baker


Madison Bergmann. Photo: St. Croix County


A Wisconsin teacher who was charged in May after being accused by authorities of kissing one of her fifth grade students is now facing a slew of new charges, according to online court records.

On May 1, Madison Bergmann, 24, of St. Paul, was arrested and charged May 2 with one count of first-degree child sexual assault with a child under age 13, online court records show.

On Thursday, Aug. 15, an amended complaint was filed charging her with nine new counts including five counts of sexual misconduct by school staff, two counts of child enticement and one count each of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and exposing a child to harmful descriptions, online court records show.

The boy's mother first learned about the alleged inappropriate relationship when she heard her son talking on the phone with Bergmann on April 29, according to the initial criminal complaint, the Pioneer Press reported in May.

On Wednesday, May 1, the child’s parents went to the boy’s school, River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, after they found illicit text messages Bergmann had allegedly been exchanging with the child, charging documents claim, CBS News reports.

Police were called and Bergmann was arrested.

She resigned from her job as a fifth grade teacher on May 13, KARE 11 reports.

Full story at People (August 2024)



A 14-year-old student fatally shot 4 people in a rampage at a Georgia high school, officials say


Authorities say a 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people. The dead have been identified as two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)


By Jeff Amy


WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A 14-year-old student opened fire at a Georgia high school and killed four people on Wednesday, authorities said, sending students scrambling for shelter in their classrooms — and eventually to the football stadium — as officers swarmed the campus and parents raced to find out if their children were safe.

The dead were identified as two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, about an hour’s drive from Atlanta. Killed were two other 14-year-olds, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and instructors Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said in a nighttime news conference.

At least nine other people — eight students and one teacher — were taken to hospitals with injuries. All were expected to survive, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said.

Shooting at Georgia high school

A high school northeast of Atlanta was locked down after a shooting Wednesday. Authorities say they arrested a suspect.
Source: AP reports; Barrow County Sheriff's Office; WSB


The words “hard lockdown” appeared on a screen in junior Layla Ferrell’s health class and lights began flashing. She and her frightened classmates piled desks and chairs in front of the door to create a barricade, she recalled.

Sophomore Kaylee Abner was in geometry class when she heard the gunshots. She and her classmates ducked behind their teacher’s desk, and then the teacher began flipping the desk in an attempt to barricade the classroom door, Abner said. A classmate beside her was praying, and she held his hand while they all waited for police.

After students poured into the football stadium, Abner saw teachers who had taken off their shirts to help treat gunshot wounds.

Full story at The Associated Press (September 2024)



‘I couldn’t say no’: anger grows over topless medical exams in Japan schools


Parents and campaigners have called on education and health authorities to end the practice of requiring children to strip off for school health checks

By Justin McCurry


Parents in Japan have called on education and health authorities to end the practise of topless medical checks in schools. Photograph: urbancow/Getty Images


“My chest was completely exposed and I felt embarrassed,” writes a Japanese girl after undergoing an annual health checkup at her middle school. Another says: “Before the exam our teacher told us we would have to lift up our tops and bra … I didn’t want to do it but I couldn’t say no.”

The testimony from two 13-year-olds, seen by the Guardian, is typical of the discomfort – and in some cases trauma – felt by children attending schools in Japan that can require boys and girls as young as five – and as old as 18 – to strip to the waist during health examinations.

It has sparked anger among parents and campaigners who have called on education and health authorities to end the practice before the new academic year begins in April.

Noriko Tabuchi, a city councillor in Matsuyama, first became aware of topless school health checkups through one of her English conversation class students. “She was 13 and hadn’t been able to tell her parents, but I could see she was troubled and asked her what was wrong,” says Tabuchi, who has since met other girls, all aged 12 and 13, who were told to strip to the waist by visiting doctors.

There is no unified policy on whether children should undress or remain clothed during the checkups, with local education boards left to decide in conjunction with visiting health professionals. Some schools require children to keep their bodies covered, while others insist that they remove their T-shirts and, among girls, bras. One western Japanese city senior high schools – whose oldest students are 18 – requires that pupils are topless during the checks.

Surveys show that most teachers want the requirement to end, while one poll of middle schoolchildren, aged 12-16, found that 95.5% of respondents were unhappy about removing their clothes. “The health exams can have serious repercussions for children,” says Akiyo Tanaka, a city councillor in Nishinomiya. “Some of them continue to experience trauma into adulthood.”

Full story at The Guardian (September 2024)



Ten-year-old Japanese boy dies after stabbing in China


By Nick Marsh


The southern city of Shenzhen has a large Japanese expatriate community


A 10-year-old Japanese student has died one day after he was stabbed near his school in southern China.

The boy, who was enrolled at the Shenzhen Japanese School, succumbed to his injuries early on Thursday, Japanese officials said.

His assailant, a 44-year-old man surnamed Zhong, was arrested on the spot, local police said.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called the attack "extremely despicable" and said Tokyo had "strongly urged" Beijing for an explanation "as soon as possible".

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the case was being investigated and that China and Japan were "in communication".

"China expresses its regret and sadness that this kind of unfortunate incident occurred," he told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.

Mr Lin also confirmed that the boy was a Japanese national with a Japanese father and a Chinese mother.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known. But some observers have expressed concern that nationalist sentiment in China might be spilling into increasing violence against foreigners.

In June, a man targeted a Japanese mother and her child in the eastern city of Suzhou. That attack was also near a Japanese school and led to the death of a Chinese national who had tried to protect the mother and son.

Earlier in June, four American teachers were stabbed in the northern city of Jilin.

Full story at BBC News (September 2024)