On Tuesday, I told you about AvaLynn Harris, a five-year-old girl from Pascagoula, Mississippi who suffered grisly facial injuries on August 22 while on the playground with her kindergarten classmates–specifically, two black eyes and a bloody nose. While school officials say that AvaLynn fell off a playground slide, she told her mother, Lacey, a horrific story–another child had kicked her in the face several times until she fell. When I showed a picture of AvaLynn to my girlfriend, a day care teacher, she almost immediately said that AvaLynn’s injuries couldn’t have come from a fall. Virtually everyone else to whom I showed this story–including a number of people who work with kids–also found it hard to believe that this could have happened from just a fall. Unless there’s something we haven’t heard or seen, I have to agree–someone beat the daylights out of this little girl.
Lacey Harris filed a police report on August 26, but the police seemed to be slow-walking the investigation. Earlier this week, however, it appeared that police were taking things more seriously; they were actively pursuing leads. On Wednesday, though, police announced the investigation had been closed. According to a statement released on the department’s Facebook page, police believe that what happened to AvaLynn was an accident, which seems hard to believe given the nature of her injuries. However, police say that their hands would have been tied in any event because “an assault on one 5 year-old by another 5 year-old is not considered a criminal act” in Mississippi.
I can understand not wanting to saddle a kindergartner with the stigma of delinquency. But if a kindergartner gets beaten to a pulp by another kindergartner, I find it hard to believe there would be anything preventing the police from giving a stern lecture to both the child who did this AND his or her parents. Such a lecture could keep that kid from turning into a bully or worse later on. And it would also put the parents on notice that they will be held to account in the future. And if the Pascagoula Police Department isn’t allowed to do this, I’d like to know who sets that department’s priorities. Last I checked, the biggest part of fighting crime is nipping things like this in the bud as early as possible. If AvaLynn was indeed beaten, whoever did this to her needs a reality check.
Before you wonder if suspicion has turned to AvaLynn’s mother, breathe easy–from the looks of it, police don’t suspect anything untoward on Harris’ part, at least for now. They opened a welfare-concern investigation into the matter in conjunction with the state Department of Human Services. Police interviewed AvaLynn’s pediatrician, several members of AvaLynn’s family, and witnesses to the playground incident. They ultimately concluded that there was no criminal activity of any sort.
As it stands now, Harris may have to file a lawsuit to get any further answers in this case. And there are quite a few questions still left unanswered. First and foremost, if AvaLynn suffered head injuries, why wasn’t she checked out at the hospital? Last I checked, serious head injuries almost always mean a trip to the ER as a precaution, accident or not. And why did it take pressure on social media for the school district to say anything? The district may have to answer those questions sooner than later; it’s turned over the case to its insurance company.
Some good has come out of this, however. In response to demands from parents, the Pascagoula School District will install closed-circuit cameras on the playgrounds at all 10 of its elementary schools.
AvaLynn seems to be recovering very well. Harris shared this picture via Justice for AvaLynn, a Facebook page set up by her supporters.
She got clearance to share it from her new lawyer, who has advised her to step away from Facebook for awhile due to the stress she’s had to endure lately. It’s perfectly understandable–she’s had to endure more in the last few weeks than most mothers endure in a year. Hopefully we can find out more about what happened to AvaLynn soon. And if someone did kick her in the face, hopefully it won’t be long before that child and his or her parents have to answer for it.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
