Five-year-old autistic boy registered as a sex offender for hugging a classmate.
‘He doesn’t understand’.
By Michelle Connolly
September 27 2019
Five-year-old Nathan who is autistic has been branded a sex-offender after hugging a classmate and kissing another on the cheek.
Nathan’s carer his guardian Summery Putnam says that a teacher accused the five-year-old of ‘sexual activities at East Ridge Elementary.
"First of all, I didn't understand... He's a five-year-old, he's a child," she told ABC7.
"The teacher called me. She said, 'You need to have a talk with Nathan about boundaries.'"
Nathan’s family claim that he has been labeled a sexual predator and that it will stay on his record forever.
"If you don't understand how autism works, you'd think he's acting out or being defiant, but that's not the situation," Putnam said.
"I talked to him. I said, 'You can't hug children.'
"He said: 'Why?'
"I said, 'Because, Nathan, it's not allowed.'"
"To bring something like this against a child, a special needs child, that really doesn't understand what he's done wrong."
Guardian Summery Putnam. Image: Facebook
Nathan's grandmother Debi Amick pleaded for help on Facebook, reported The Sun.
She wrote: "What do you do when a 5 year child is being labelled a sexual predator and accused of sexual harassment by the school system?
"It was disclosed that it will go in his record for the rest of his life that he is a sex offender.
"This child is [autistic], he comprehends and functions very different than your typical 5 year.
"Who do you turn to for help when the school will not even listen to the child’s doctor when he explains the child’s difficulties in his comprehension of simple things such as boundaries.
"If anyone can offer advice or help please do."
East Ridge Elementary
