Soona and Vili Fualaau are suing Highline School District and the City of Des Moines for support of Vili’s two daughters. They claim the school district and the city are responsible for the rape of Vili Fualaau and hence the support of his children.
Responsibility! Soona Fualaau testified that her 13-year-old son went to live with a friend, he lied saying the friend had no address and phone number, and he wouldn’t tell her with whom he was staying. On occasion her 13-year-old would phone her to say he was OK.
Responsible: Liable to be required to give account, as of one’s actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust. That’s according to Webster’s. I wonder if parenthood could be considered a duty. I wonder if a 13-year-old child should be able to trust that a parent will discharge their duty and ensure their physical and emotional welfare. I wonder if a child can be held responsible by their parent for lying.
I remember television announcements when I was a child (at home and safe with my responsible parents), “It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?” Perhaps that should be, “It’s August. Do you know where your children have been for the past three months?”
The state found half of the responsibility: Mary Kay Letourneau is now in prison. It is unfortunate that the other half is suing somebody else in an effort to escape responsibility. It is even more unfortunate that in our courtrooms, they could very well succeed.
Bothell
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