Charges dropped against steak knife girl
Last Edited: Thursday, 27 Dec 2007, 10:53 AM EST
Created: Wednesday, 26 Dec 2007, 3:46 PM EST
A 10-year-old Marion County girl is still trying to grasp the news she might never be allowed back at school. Last week the girl was eating her steak lunch in the cafeteria at Sunrise Elementary School in Ocala. Two school employees saw her using a knife for her steak. They took it and called police and now the girl is facing a felony charge and is not allowed back in school.
OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- Authorities have dropped a felony weapons charge against a 10-year-old girl in Ocala who brought a kitchen knife to school to cut up her lunch.
The girl, whose name has not been released, was arrested after teachers at Sunrise Elementary School saw her use a 41/2-inch knife on a steak. She was also suspended from school for three days.
After reviewing her school record and interviewing her, investigators with the Department of Juvenile Justice recommended that the State Attorney's Office not prosecute the child. The attorney's office agreed.
Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway told the Orlando Sentinel that nothing in the girl's school history suggested she was a troubled child.