When it comes to juveniles and the state justice system, “you have to do something really bad to be visible.”
Those were the exact words of Lyon County Attorney Marc Goodman on KVOE’s Talk of Emporia on Friday as he discussed changes in state law from 2016 and their relation to the Emporia Middle School spring dance investigation, which essentially ended Thursday when Goodman’s office issued a news release saying it couldn’t release information on how the system handled four unnamed juveniles accused by Emporia Police of false reporting.
Initially, the case revolved around allegations of an adult inappropriately touching students. Officers and investigators changed their approach as part of what Goodman called an “extremely thorough and complete investigation” — but he also says his office couldn’t update the public on how the case is moving forward because of state law.
Changes dating back to 2016 mean first-time juvenile offenders must be offered Immediate Intervention Programs before formal charges are filed — and if IIPs are successfully completed, charges are not filed. They also mean no updates can come from prosecutors once IIPs are offered.
Goodman has been a vocal opponent of the IIP concept since it was approved because it “reinforces non-accountability” among juveniles and fails to protect them from the sharply different approach in the adult corrections system if juveniles continue along that general path. In the Middle School dance case, he says there are no effective consequences for the juveniles who are now said to have falsely reported inappropriate behavior.
Goodman also says the same general situation applied after allegations of misconduct by Emporia High football players against a teammate a year ago. The County Attorney’s Office says there was “no evidence to support the filing of felony charges,” and prosecutors also could not confirm or deny any misdemeanor charges connected to that alleged incident.
