13-year-old student stops attending school in SJL following extortion threats from classmate
A student at Fe y Alegría 25 received death threats and a demand for S/1,000 via WhatsApp from a classmate. The case is under police investigation as alleged extortion between schoolchildren.
Death threats and extortion paralyse student at Fe y Alegría 25 in San Juan de Lurigancho
A 13-year-old boy stopped attending in-person classes at Fe y Alegría 25 school in San Juan de Lurigancho after receiving death threats and a demand for money from a classmate. According to infobae.com, the incident was triggered following a school competition for the school's anniversary, in which the boy lost a game.
The same night of the event, the alleged aggressor reportedly began messaging the boy in a shared WhatsApp group with other classmates. Among the messages, according to what the mother told Latina Noticias, was the following demand: "Alright then, of course I forgive you, but you have to give me a thousand soles per head so I don't do anything to you. If not, go ahead and buy your coffin or if you're scared, go file your complaint". The boy tried to apologise and explained that he had not practised for the game and that he got nervous.
The family filed a report at a police station. Police received the case as alleged extortion between schoolchildren and is keeping it under investigation. The mother also revealed that, according to information she had obtained, some people would be requesting photographs of her and her husband and finding out their address.
The fear led the boy to abandon in-person classes. "He doesn't go to classes because he's having a nervous crisis. He's afraid to go to school", said his guardian. According to her account, the alleged aggressor was moved to virtual classes whilst her son was left without attending the school. The mother added that other students may also be afraid to speak about what happened.
Second family reports physical assault by same classmate
The case does not involve only that boy. A second mother reported that her son had intervened to defend another minor who was being attacked and that, as a result, the teenager identified as the alleged aggressor hit him in the mouth. "He punched him in the mouth so hard it burst his lips and loosened his teeth", the woman said. Furthermore, according to her account, the teenager had threatened her son with the words "I'm going to kill you".
Following the incident, the boy informed his teacher and his form tutor, who called the mother. The family filed the corresponding report and requested that the boy remain at the school until she could pick him up. According to her statement, the alleged aggressor continued attending the school in the days following that first report. "It's the same young man who attacked my son, the same one", she maintained when asked about the relationship between both cases.
Both families pointed out that there would be other complaints filed against the same student. The second complainant also indicated that the UGEL initially intervened by signing a record and that the deputy headteacher presented the case to that authority.
Mother of threatened boy questions school's response
The mother of the 13-year-old boy described how she discovered the conversations: her son went into a panic and she found the chat open on the boy's mobile phone. "He told me: 'Mum, it's a joke'. But this is not a joke", she told Latina Noticias. When she went to the school, the headteacher reportedly told her that there were complaints or previous incidents related to the teenager in question.
The guardian questioned that the main response from the school for her son was a referral to psychological attention. "The headteacher has only told me to take my boy to a psychologist", she said. According to her explanation, the school covered two sessions and the following ones would be her responsibility. For this reason, she requested sustained psychological support for the boy and his family.
The boy has not returned to the classroom. The family maintains that the situation continues to cause fear and that the boy does not feel safe to return to school.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan