A Suffolk County grand jury has indicted a 17-year-old girl in connection to an attack on a BPS principal last year. The defendant was due in court on Wednesday morning for an arraignment hearing but did not show up in person causing a delay.
According to the Boston Herald, the girl was indicted as “a youthful offender.” A “youthful offender” was a new status for minor offenders included in a change to state juvenile delinquency laws back in 1996. This status allows prosecutors more flexibility in charging older minors for serious offenses and allows juvenile, adult or combination sentences, according to the Herald.
Patricia Lampron, principal of Dr. William Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, had to be taken to the hospital after she was assaulted by a student on Nov. 3. The attack took place during dismissal at the Henderson Upper Campus.
The girl was arrested at the scene and then appeared in Dorchester Juvenile Court the next day on charges of assault and battery on a person over 60, assault and battery causing serious injury and two counts of assault and battery on a public employee.
On Wednesday morning, the arraignment hearing at Dorchester District Court had to be continued until later due to the fact the defendant did not appear in person.
The Herald is reporting that Judge Sylvia Gomes denied a defense motion this morning to allow defendant Laurette LeRouge of Mattapan to appear via internet video teleconferencing client Zoom. The judge did state that the teen will not have her face photographed when she appears, but will allow the photographer to shoot the defense desk from behind.
The hearing reconvened at 2:30pm and LeRouge did appear in court in-person. The judge transferred LeRouge’s previous juvenile release conditions to her youthful offender conditions.
According to the Herald, she is already out on $5,000 cash bail and confined to home in Mattapan, with stay-away orders for the school and the alleged victim.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
