Posted on Sat, Apr. 19, 2008

13-year-old charged with felony

ENDANGERED A STUDENT ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS

By Steve Lannen

SLANNEN@HERALD-LEADER.COM

A Morton Middle School eighth-grader faces felony charges after putting crumbled peanut butter cookies in the lunch box of another student with a severe allergy to peanuts.

The allergic student, another eighth-grader, did not eat the cookies and did not suffer a reaction.

However, even trace amounts of peanut oil can cause severe reactions and even death. Symptoms can include hives, welts and swelling that can restrict airways. Earlier this month, it was reported that a 13-year-old boy died in Australia at a school camp due to an allergic reaction to peanuts.

Letters went home Friday to parents of Morton students notifying them of the incident, according to a press release.

The incident occurred Thursday out on the school's running track, where students had gone to eat lunch and enjoy the warm weather, Fayette Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said. As the students neared the end of their lunch time, a student was seen putting the crumbled cookies in the allergic student's lunch box, she said.

It was well known that the other student suffered from severe peanut allergies, Deffendall said. There was no known history of problems between the two teens, she added. Both students are 13.

After an investigation, the student was arrested, was charged with felony wanton endangerment and has been removed from the school, Deffendall said.

A person is charged with felony, or first-degree, wanton endangerment when someone is suspected of engaging in conduct that causes the danger of death or physical injury to another person, according to state legal statutes.

The student will face charges in the juvenile criminal justice system. Deffendall could not comment on specific administrative action taken against the student, but said an expulsion comes only after a decision by the school board.

A father of a Morton eighth-grader, who was not involved in the incident, said last night he felt sorry for the parents of the student accused, but supported the school district's handling of the matter.

"I think it was entirely appropriate ... particularly because he knew that it was a life-threatening possibility," Tom Fielder said. "I think the student should be dealt with in a strict manner."

It is well known that students aren't to bring food with peanuts to school, Fielder said.

"There's a whole set of really strict guidelines. It's almost zero-tolerance. You can't take any chances," he said.

There is no district-wide policy regarding peanut or other food allergies, Deffendall said. Schools that have students with food allergies tailor policies to protect them. Some schools have separate "peanut-free" tables. Because a number of Morton students have known peanut and sesame seed allergies, families have been asked not to send those foods to school.