Prosecutors are not moving forward with a charge against a 10-year-old boy accused of hitting a 9-year-old student in the face with a rubber ball. According to NBC Chicago, the prosecutors dropped the assault charge on the 10-year-old boy from Michigan. Kym Worthy, a prosecutor from Wayne County, made the announcement and said there’s a “better way to go forward” than taking a child to juvenile court. The charges were originally filed on Tuesday.
According to the prosecutors, students from Eriksson Elementary school in Canton Township were playing a game called “tips” back in April. “Tips” is a game where kids jump to catch the ball when it’s thrown in the air. At the end of the game, the 10-year-old boy allegedly threw the ball at the 9-year-old student in the face, which caused him to suffer a concussion. The mother of the 9-year-old called the police that led to the 10-year-old being originally charged with aggravated assault.
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“In many juvenile cases, we are able to craft solutions prior to charging any offense. After charging, remedies can be anything from dismissal, to providing needed services for the juvenile respondent to diversion programs and beyond,” Worthy said in a statement Tuesday per Fox News.
Right after Worthy made that statement, she announced the charges have been dropped.
“I have no doubt that both families involved love their children and want the best for them. But I do think that there is a better way to go forward at this time. And the cooperation of all parties is needed,” Worthy said Wednesday. “While the charge, in this case, is certainly sustainable, I have instructed my staff to dismiss this case today.”
One of the things to note about this is the mother of the 10-year-old believes that race was the reason he was charged since he is black. Worthy denied that claim.
“The mother of the alleged victim had every right to go to the authorities and the authorities had an obligation to investigate. When this case was reviewed by my office, no one paid attention to the race of either party. It is categorically wrong to suggest that this was charged based on race or geography,” she said.
