One For All, Assault At The 'Frog' Park'

On Tuesday, November 12, 2014 at about 7 p.m., a child looked into the window of Cyrano’s Place, a fencing club at 15639 Madison Ave. I was the coach at the time and seeing the child, I did what I normally do, and invited the child to watch me finish the lesson with another student. The child, 11 years old, explained that he had gone to the park on Madison, the ‘Frog Park’, after school, where he had been assaulted by a bunch of teenagers.

He ran away from the teenagers as fast as he could only to find himself at a shop. The personnel at the shop helped clean off the blood from his fat lip and bleeding nose. Then, they sent him on his way.

On hearing this child’s sad tale, I told him that I would be calling the police on his behalf, not because he was in trouble, but because he had been wronged.  Then the child started to shake and tremble. Reality started to set in. The child's mom would meet the police at Cyrano’s Place before taking the scared child home to safety.

When I was 17, someone came up behind me and tried to rape me. I went into competitive fencing mode, which saved me big time. I looked like a battered wife after the fact. There is a healing process that happens after physical/emotional trauma like this. One of the biggest hurts is not having your own pain recognized for what it is. Or, being told, it’s your own fault that you were assaulted. How is it your own fault? I don’t know. I guess you intended to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What I can’t understand is why any adult would let a hurt child go back on the street after he had been attack. Where they thinking, 'These things happen, now go on with your own business and leave me alone?' How can you not get involved? At least get the child back to their parent or the police when something like this happens.

I’m appalled that this happened. I’m appalled that four hours after the incident this child is walking aimlessly around town too freaked out to truly make a sound decision to help himself.

We need to be vigilant for the entire community, always, for ALL our neighbors. These teens who hurt this child will have no reason to stop, unless we as a community give them a reason. Call this bullying if you want, but the truth is, this child was assaulted at one of Lakewood’s parks! And it needs to STOP!