Taylor Stratton Was Beat Up And Hair Cut By Bully Who Posted Video Online

[Whisper]

Father Of Accused Bully Apologizes For Daughter's Actions
Victim Says Attack Recorded, Posted Online
Dec 14 2011

Mike Putthoff, Bullys Father

ELSMERE, Ky. -- The father of a teen accused of beating another girl said he wants to apologize to the victim, and he wants to do something to stop bullying.

Taylor Stratton said she let a friend cut her hair, but she said the girl cut about a foot off her hair and then attacked her that same night at an Elsmere park.

The 14-year-old said the beating, which was recorded and posted on YouTube, left both her eyes swollen shut and bloodshot.
Her alleged assailant spoke with News 5's Laura Borchers one day after Taylor's story aired.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize to Taylor's family and to Taylor for my daughter's actions," said Mike Putthoff, the girl's father. "I feel horrible it happened, (and) appalled that it was my child that did this."
Authorities are investigating the incident, which has made national news. The girls' families said they expect to learn Friday whether any charges will be filed.

"There are other ways to handle this besides violence," Putthoff said. "I'd like the public to know my daughter is a smart, bright person who made some poor choices. I'd like her to think before she does some things, and a lot of what she did that day relates to peer pressure."
[...]

http://www.wlwt.com/news/30007860/de...#ixzz1genepsL6


Police: Teen Attacked, Beaten By Bully At Playground
Victim Says Video Of Attack Was Posted Online
Dec 15 2011

ERLANGER, Ky. -- Police said a girl was attacked and beaten by a school bully, who then posted the assault video online.
Teen Taylor Stratton said it started when one girl cut a foot of her hair earlier that day.
"We were sitting there, talking about how I was going to get my hair cut. She said, 'Oh, I'll do it for you,'" Taylor Stratton said.
Taylor Stratton said one girl took a video while another one was cutting her hair off. The video was posted on Facebook, she said.
"(They were) laughing every time they took a chunk out and zooming in on the pile of hair," Taylor's mother, Summer Stratton, said.
On Saturday night, when she was sitting on a swing at a playground, Taylor Stratton said the girl who cut her hair came up to her.
"She came up to me and was like, 'Get up.' I said, 'No.' Then she backhanded me in the face. I figured it would break something because it hurt so bad," Taylor Stratton said.
Taylor Stratton said she doesn't remember how many blows landed. She said the attack was recorded and posted online.
Taylor Stratton said no one came to help her during the attack.
"I was screaming and crying my eyes out. I had to call my dad," Taylor Stratton said.
She said she thinks the beating sent her into a seizure.
"(My dad) said I was shaking to death. He said my eyes were swollen," Taylor Stratton said.
Police said they are investigating the incident.
It happened off school grounds, but Summer Stratton said she wants schools to get aggressive putting an end to the first signs of bullying.
[...]

http://www.wlwt.com/news/30000681/de...#ixzz1geoQlV4i

[cubby]

....And I thought he was going to be a parent and make his daughter accountable for her actions and choices, but he slips right at the end and blames it all on peer pressure...I should have known better.

ETA Looks like she might possibly be ginger haired I wonder if that could have been the horrible thing this girl did to get attacked.

[Whisper]

....And I thought he was going to be a parent and make his daughter accountable for her actions and choices, but he slips right at the end and blames it all on peer pressure...I should have known better.

yeah he screws up at the end
I never ever hit my kids,but something like that I wouldve given a good old fashioned ass beating
and I dont believe in hitting or corp punishment but believe everyones got their rights for whatever
I would give my child a beat down

[ScribbleMuse]

I think he was doing a knee jerk reaction to his daughter being labeled as a horrible little bitch... I agree with you all about the facts of the story basically portraying the aggressor as the brutal thug, so don't think that I'm taking his side on it.

Now that my daughter is older, I've had a little more experience in the adolescent battleground as a parent and it's exhausting. I admit that my immediate desire is to shield her and go spank whoever seems to have hurt my baby, but I have tried to make sure I force Rylie to walk me through every single detail, sometimes multiple times, before I act by giving advice or else being supportive in person and involving the school when necessary (though I try to stay out of that method as I think it could easily harm her socially in the long run). She's accused me before of not being on "her side," but eventually we come to a much more controlled point where she has analyzed the situation by explaining it all and answering all my questions, and is able to assess her own share of the blame. Regardless of the apparent blame for starting it, she has always seen that she could either have responded differently to diffuse the situation earlier, or else create a solution to act upon afterward to heal the rifts.

I have a great kid, though I know that I'm the mom and we moms all say that. I do think I'm not stupid blind to her faults, however, and the times she has had a larger share of the blame, she has always left me with the most awesome feelings of both pride and heartbreak. Pride because we all fuck up once in a while and we're all capable of showing our ass at any given moment, and no one ever gets through life without owing someone an apology, but not all of us are capable of doing more than investing time in dwelling on how it's someone else's fault. That's what I'm trying to teach her and to see that as a natural ability makes me just tear up with goofy happiness.

On the other hand, she's my baby. Thus far she's not done anything horrible, and I know that nothing could make me NOT love her. That love is what makes ME want to forget all the wise and adult actions I'm trying to show her and instead dwell on how others are being mean to my baby. While that love also does not allow me to indulge in that, I do want to do it. Even when she's at fault, it's a deal where I can punish her, and nag her unto the ends of the earth, but when someone else steps in, no matter how much they have a right to and how correct they are in their assumption, I want to lash back.

I'm sure this guy is the same way. This incident definitely showed a side of his daughter that apparently thinks with brutish and dull actions of physical violence and bullying, and it's right that she be labeled as she has shown herself to be. Maybe she is actually the good person he claims she is, because all in all, this is a quite tame bullying incident in sight of all the others that we see here and experience ourselves. But while he probably is able to take the truth to some extent, it's a natural reaction to want to shield your child.

JMO, obviously, and regardless of his motive or how well I am understanding the person I'm imagining him to be, his daughter in this incident is definitely the villain and I hope it's just a one-time stupidity for her, for her own sake.

[cubby]

@ScribbleMuse, but what it boils down to in the end is that you are making her take responsibility for her own actions and choices.

You don't have to leave them flapping in the wind bearing the brunt of the consequences of what they've done to show them that what happens is a result of choices they themselves made. You just have to make them understand that nothing and nobody can make you do anything you truly don't want to do. At the point that they want to do something they know they shouldn't it's just as easy to choose not to do it. Doesn't happen overnight but it will happen. I got two great boys to prove it. they never bullied anyone and didn't hang with anyone who did. We live in a very small town and I would have known and I would have dealt wiht it harshly. I HATE BULLIES!