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Swearing Student Faces Jail Time
North Carolina Teen Says Charge Is Overreaction
POSTED: 1:08 pm EDT October 10, 2004
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- A North Carolina teenager may have to go to jail for using foul language with a high school teacher.
Glenn Gattis and his parents don't deny that he cursed or has had other disciplinary problems at Ashley High School in Wilmington. But they said the misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct is an overreaction.
The 17-year-old Gattis said he became frustrated and used bad language when he got in trouble for being late to class again. He said he was ultimately stopped by deputies working as school resource officers, who gave him a citation for using language meant to provoke violence. He was also suspended for three days.
Gattis' mother said she could understand if her son had to serve detention at school. But he could get up to 30 days in jail. The family has hired a lawyer to fight the charge.
School officials aren't commenting.
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I am a woman, I make mistakes. I make them often. God has given me a talent and that's it. ~ Jill Scott
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