Peanut butter assault nets jail sentence for teen

[malq]

WENATCHEE — A teenager has been sentenced to four days in jail for smearing peanut butter on the forehead of another youth he knew was allergic to peanuts.

Nineteen-year-old Joshua Hickson, of Malaga, was convicted last week of simple assault in Chelan County District Court.

Judge Nancy Harmon repeatedly asked Hickson why he committed the act before Hickson finally said he didn't know about peanut allergies. Investigators say that during lunch at Wenatchee High School on Sept. 8, Hickson heard a conversation in which it was mentioned that a student sitting near him was allergic to peanuts.

Hickson then grabbed someone's peanut butter sandwich and wiped some of the peanut butter on the boy's forehead.

The boy did not suffer an allergic reaction, but told police he had suffered a severe reaction to peanuts in the past.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/late...ry/731303.html

This made headlines in the local paper.

[RaVen Blackehart]

That is no joke, that can kill someone who's allergic to it. In fact, just a tiny microscopic bit can do it, that's why on food labels it says if there was even a chance of peanuts coming close to the product. I wonder if all these new peanut allergies are do to the genetic engineering of today's peanuts, or to some kind of pesticide or fertilizer used on the peanut crops now that wasn't used back in the day.

[malq]

You're right Raven, it is no joke. Your comment made me look a little deeper as to why. It's up in the air, but check out this link
http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/Article...utswhynow.html

[RaVen Blackehart]

Very interesting article, thanks. Under the circumstances, don't you think the charge should be attempted murder? That's what it seems like it was, if the other kid knew about the allergy.

[malq]

Very interesting article, thanks. Under the circumstances, don't you think the charge should be attempted murder? That's what it seems like it was, if the other kid knew about the allergy.

I would have to debate this long and hard before deciding to commit a teenager to a AM charge. It would depend on intent and malice I think.
Kids that age so want to be jackasses for attention. Also if he grasped the full ramifications of what he was doing.

[Ladyeridan]

when I was in high school, I was part of the show choir. we used to go to a regional competition, an invitational at James Madison University. one of our members, Josh, was actually hospitalized for his allergic reaction to peanuts. See, one of the chaperones had some cookies, sent by his wife for all us kids on the buses. He didn't know they had peanut butter in them. they were oatmeal cookies, with no nuts. It never occurred to anyone that there might have been peanut butter in the recipe. ended up working out to something like half a cup of peanut butter in a batch of batter that made around 150 cookies, so a minuscule proportion of peanut to cookie, but it was enoguh to send him for five days in the hospital.

Peanut butter allergies are SCARY. anaphylaxis is REALLY scary.