Walker Middle School parent says more locker room supervision needed

A parent of a Walker Middle School flag football player says more supervision is needed in school locker rooms to prevent bullying and more serious attacks.

"You've got to be aware of your audience and you've got to be aware of the students; the type of students to be left alone and the ones you can't leave alone," said Hermena Clark, mother of team member Daniel Clark.

Hillsborough County School Board members agree.

"It's just dreadful what happened," board member Jennifer Faliero said. "This whole incident raises serious questions."

Schools must boost supervision in locker rooms, she said. "I have to believe there are ways in which a lot more monitoring can go on."

The state attorney's office released 105 pages of pre-trial discovery documents Tuesday afternoon, including statements from a flag football player who told investigators he was sexually assaulted by other teammates with a hockey stick and broomstick on at least 10 different occasions.

Other members of the teens watched as the alleged attacks occurred in a Walker locker room, according to the court documents.

Faliero said school administrators have long known that locker rooms are one of the most common places where bullying occurs, she said. "I'd hope that each principal has a detailed way in which they are watching the locker rooms."

School board member April Griffin said the district has implemented new procedures and training for teachers and staff to identify and deal with bullying. One goal is to make students more active participants in efforts to identify and police bad behavior, she said.

Students must be taught to look out for one another, Griffin said. "We have to teach these kids to step forward."

Any students who stood by and watched the assaults are just as guilty as the kids charged in the incidents, Faliero said. "I'd want to know who these people are."

Clark, the mother of the Walker flag football player, said her family is trying to put the incident behind them. Her son saw very little of what the victim says happened, Clark said.

"He didn't see what the other kids saw," said Clark. "He would go in [to the locker room], get dressed and get out of there. He saw them messing around in the locker room, but he didn't see what the media is saying happened. He was just a football player."

Clark said she was also disappointed at the way parents found out about the situation.

"I don't know if I like that," she said. "I did not find out about this until it hit the news. I was kind of disappointed. Very disappointed. We should have gotten a telephone call the minute they got a whiff of some type of bullying going on. Some other parents were disappointed. Very disappointed. They were not aware that the kids were left with so much free time in the locker room before the coaches got in there.

Walker, she said, does not have a very good reputation right now.

But she would send her son, who is now going to high school, back there.

"There are going to be more precautions there now," she said. "I would encourage parents to let their kids go to Walker."

Clark said she was surprised by the allegations.

"To even be on the team, the kids had to have a good grade point average, a good report card, no type of in-school suspensions. You are looking at a pretty good group of kids," she said. "My heart goes out to the victim."