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re: School board member who hugged teen and called her ‘hot’ is charged with assault

Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:07 am to
Posted by real turf fan
East Tennessee
Member since Dec 2016
11941 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:07 am to
Side hugs are different.
Several years ago I had a phone call from a woman in our flower society. She was working on her GED and really keeping her family and children well fed and in school.
Someone in our club was helping her with the GED (he was a part time preacher) and had started full frontal hugging and holding the hugs too long.
She hated it. She asked my advice.
I asked how long until she had the GED. About a month.
I told her, if it were me, I'd avoid him, keep my mouth shut until I had the GED in hand, and then the next time he reached for a hug, tell him "NO" with the tone of voice you'd use to train a dog not to jump.

She did earn her GED and got a decent job and avoided the Rev there after.
Posted by Fat and Happy
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2013
19978 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:13 am to
Should there have been consequences? Yes

Should there be a charge? No
Posted by Hangover Haven
Metry
Member since Oct 2013
33703 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:16 am to
quote:

During the public comment part of a May 7 meeting, the student called the adult members of the school board “cowards” for what she characterized as their “failure to act.” “To begin, I want to address Ervin’s actions, which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory,” she said, standing at a podium in front of the members, including Ervin, who sat with his arms crossed as she spoke. “I know this because he has not behaved this way with any of our male members, nor do I believe that he ever would.”

In her public comments, the teen told the board members that she does not accept “your fake apologies used to protect yourselves. I do not believe that you deserve that peace of mind.”

The members did not respond to her and moved on to other meeting agenda items.


2 to 1 when she lawyered up, her lawyer wrote that...
Posted by StringedInstruments
Member since Oct 2013
20908 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:21 am to
quote:

Actually, it probably does meet the criteria for subsection 1(c) of the assault statute, which is unwanted touching.


quote:

(a) A person commits assault who:
(1) Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
(2) Intentionally or knowingly causes another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury; or
(3) Intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative.


I think for (3) to work, reasonable people would need to regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative. But as seen in this thread--with multiple OTers who are always reasonable--it's not so cut and dry.

I guess when combined with the comment, you could say it was provocative. Physical touch + flirtatious comment = sexual intent.
Posted by Darth_Vader
A galaxy far, far away
Member since Dec 2011
73686 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:22 am to
quote:

I’m not sure I see how someone can be charged with assault for a side hug.


It’s ridiculous.

quote:

But also, he shouldn’t have hugged her.


Agree 100%. He should face disciplinary action from the board, but a criminal charge for a side hug is beyond absurd.
Posted by CocomoLSU
Inside your dome.
Member since Feb 2004
156636 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:28 am to
quote:

he was just saying "she was on a roll".

IIRC, wasn't this at least a plausible explanation for what he said? Like it was even within that context, as opposed to him making an observation that the HS kid "was hot" as in attractiveness? I thought it was at least plausible that that was what he was doing/saying.

Or am I misremembering it?
quote:

I understand expelling him from the school board, but you can’t convict him of a crime for something like that. It was creepy but not criminal.

If it was more than simply "you're hot" as in "man, you're on fire", then that seems fair and I agree.
This post was edited on 5/20/26 at 9:31 am
Posted by Weekend Warrior79
Member since Aug 2014
21757 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:31 am to
quote:

Supermoto Tiger

Posted by Weekend Warrior79
Member since Aug 2014
21757 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:34 am to
quote:

(3) Intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative.

I agree that underlined part definitely comes into play since it was physical contact and the flirtatious comment.

And as someone else pointed out, the fact that he's an elected official; they most likely needed to file charges to either have him removed or to force him to "voluntarily" stepdown.
Posted by AtlantaLSUfan
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2009
27236 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:37 am to
Throwing the book at a perv. Meanwhile thousands of actual child rapists are walking fee.
Posted by RummelTiger
Official TD Sauces Club Member
Member since Aug 2004
93643 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:43 am to
Based on her quotes, she seems like a badass!
Posted by evil cockroach
27.98N // 86.92E
Member since Nov 2007
9178 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:47 am to
quote:

quote: A Tennessee school board member who hugged a teenage girl and called her “hot”
so , I went to the Dictionary and looked up “Poor Judgment” …
Posted by DesScorp
Alabama
Member since Sep 2017
10320 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 9:57 am to
quote:

The charge of assault — physical contact stems from an incident on April 2, when Keith Ervin put his arm around the girl, a student member of the board, hugged her from the side and told her, “God, you’re hot,” after she had just wrapped up asking questions about career and technical education.


So basically #MeToo is still going strong.
Posted by RAB
Member since Aug 2019
1717 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 10:08 am to
Charging this guy with assault for putting his arm around a teenager is stupid. But it reminds me of a time when me and the kid next were playing at my granny's house. He broke one of her windows with a rock, but my granny took the switch to me. I pleaded with her that I didn't break her window, but she said, "Well, even if you didn't, you deserve this for something else you did that I don't know about."

The point is that any old man who hugs a teenage girl while saying "my God you're hot" probably deserves punishment for other things he's done that we don't know about.
Posted by SidewalkTiger
Member since Dec 2019
70864 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 11:46 am to
quote:

During the public comment part of a May 7 meeting, the student called the adult members of the school board “cowards” for what she characterized as their “failure to act.” “To begin, I want to address Ervin’s actions, which were not only unwelcome, but sexist and derogatory,” she said, standing at a podium in front of the members, including Ervin, who sat with his arms crossed as she spoke. “I know this because he has not behaved this way with any of our male members, nor do I believe that he ever would.”

In her public comments, the teen told the board members that she does not accept “your fake apologies used to protect yourselves. I do not believe that you deserve that peace of mind.”

The members did not respond to her and moved on to other meeting agenda items.


Is there anything they can actually do or is this just grandstanding?
Posted by lionward2014
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2015
14073 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 12:30 pm to
quote:

But as seen in this thread--with multiple OTers who are always reasonable--it's not so cut and dry.

I guess when combined with the comment, you could say it was provocative. Physical touch + flirtatious comment = sexual intent.


If some creepy old dude is calling my teenage daughter hot and trying to hug her, I'm perfectly okay with him getting slapped with a misdemeanor assault charge at a minimum.

Bunch of weirdos between the original thread and this one trying to defend this dude.
Posted by Dirt Booger
Comanche County
Member since Apr 2023
847 posts
Posted on 5/20/26 at 12:50 pm to
I think you’re right. She had just debated someone it made great points in a topic and he put his finger in her shoulder like touching something and said something about her being really hot ( temperature wise). He then put and arm around her and did a kinda side hug asking her what school she went to and telling her she was really impressive (in context of being a student allowed to participate on the board)

Inappropriate, sure I can see that. Criminal is just reaching based off of fake outrage
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