Parents are now looking to establish a safety agency. - Anxiety over the potential predator at the playground
Since last Monday, a sense of fear has gripped the Swabian town housing around 4,500 residents. On that very day, a child molester assaulted an 8-year-old girl in the playground of Ottmar-Mergenthaler School. Shortly after this incident, within an hour, he allegedly harassed two 12-year-old girls in a sexually inappropriate manner.
Suspected to be the same individual with a reddish-brown beard (20 to 30 years old, approximately 1.80 meters tall, wearing a rain coat) is said to have exposed himself to a total of three girls (8 to 12 years old) in mid-April. The authorities are currently examining whether these cases are connected. The two descriptions are similar in certain aspects, a police spokeswoman confirms.
Mother Claudia Schwarz (44) retrieved her 12-year-old daughter from her fifth lesson on Wednesday and exclaimed, "Most parents are highly concerned. Especially since the school bus service is erratic and some kids don't get home straight away after school."
Mother Jessica Stamp (30) is at wit's end after the attack, "I sent an email to the school suggesting that we, the parents, set up a kind of security service. I believe the school must take responsibility in this situation, as the crime occurred on its grounds."
Father Edgar M. from the Black Forest, with his two sons attending a grammar school, brings up the question, "I'm asking myself why schools and their yards are open to anyone? I lived in France for seven years and noticed that the outer perimeters of all schools there are fenced with walls."
Mayor Uwe Skrzypek (53, a member of the Free Voters) has no intention of fencing off schoolyards and responds, "We advocate for an open schoolyard concept. Setting up surveillance cameras in public spaces is not an easily achievable solution."
SKRZYPEK encourages the heightened awareness of parents and adds, "In a letter to the parents, there was a suggestion that children should stick together when going out. We are in close collaboration with the police and can assure you that no carelessness is present when handling these events, with all measures being taken into account."
What does the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Education have to say?
They are tightening security measures -like installing
However, the Mayor also states, "Converting schools into high-security areas is not a remedy. Schools are meant to be community centers. In Baden-Württemberg, clubs and sports teams use school facilities as well."
"We cannot, and do not desire, to diminish these communal usages. A democratic school culture needs openness, a blend of freedom and responsibility, appreciation and participation. Fences alone would cause practical issues like access control."
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Source: symclub.org
