About the charges
ELLSWORTH — Ellsworth County Attorney Shepack announced Thursday, April 7, he would file two juvenile offender complaints alleging battery, stemming from the events that took place Feb. 6 on a Great Bend USD 428 school bus coming back from a boys swim team meet.
From the accounts given by the nine people who heard or saw something, Shepack’s office alleged that an episode of teenage male athlete horseplay progressed (or degenerated) into several incidents of battery upon a 14 year Great Bend High School student-athlete, he stated in a news release.
The story was posted April 7 on the Great Bend Tribune webstie:
Juvenile charges to be filed in Ellsworth County
http://www.gbtribune.com/archives/95065/
Ellsworth County Attorney Joe Shepack has released a statement on the Great Bend bus incident. Two juveniles were convicted this week, each on one charge of a Class B misdemeanor battery in Ellsworth County District Court.
The names of these juveniles, both males, is public record. However, it is the policy of the Great Bend Tribune not to release the names in juvenile cases.
According to attorney Shepack:
On May 31, a 17-year-old male of Great Bend was convicted of a misdemeanor battery. Sentencing has been set for 2 p.m. on July 5. The juvenile will remain free on bond until sentencing.
On June 1, his co-defendant was sentenced pursuant to his conviction for a misdemeanor battery. Sentencing was conducted by the Honorable District Magistrate Judge Verle Willey. The sentence was a probationary sentence extending through May of 2017. The sentencing judge noted that this was the juvenile’s first conviction for a misdemeanor and that he had previously issued an apology, through social media, to the victim, and that neither the victim nor a spokesperson for the victim appeared at sentencing, notwithstanding having been given notice of the sentencing date and time back in April of 2016.
The sentencing judge also took note of a pending civil lawsuit directed at this defendant’s parents which necessarily precluded the young man from full allocution — that is, speaking on his own behalf — at his sentencing.
In Ellsworth County District Court Case 2016-CV-17, a lawsuit seeking monetary damages was filed on behalf of the battery victim against 21 named defendants. The suit was filed May 11, 2016. Defendants include the Superintendent of Great Bend USD 428; the Principal of Great Bend High School; two Great Bend swim team coaches, a bus driver, and members of the USD 428 School Board. Also included as defendants are the parents of certain Great Bend High School students, including the parents of the two juveniles who were convicted in this case.
The Ellsworth County Attorney makes no comment about the merits, or lack thereof, of said lawsuit, other than to remind the public that the standards of proof for civil lawsuits and criminal proceedings are vastly different. To compare, a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit can prevail by presenting evidence that is 51 percent believable. This is called proving a case by a preponderance of the evidence. In criminal cases, the standard for conviction is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” Although there are no Kansas cases quantifying “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,”logic would suggest that we are talking about a 98 to 100 percent proof of guilt. Thus, persons who may not be convicted, nor even charged in criminal cases, may still face civil liability. Indeed, comparing civil cases to criminal cases is like comparing apples to oranges.
