For Some Detroit Students Getting To School Safely Is Milestone For The Day
DETROIT (WWJ) - For some kids, there's more to worry about than homework during the school year.
Children who walk to and from school also face the increased prospect of being the victim of a crime.
In June, 22-year-old Justin Johnson was charged with criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping offenses.
Police say Johnson approached a 15-year-old girl, grabbed her, then assaulted her on Wednesday as the student was walking to school.
The girl said she was alone because a friend she usually walked with had been involved in a deadly accident while crossing the street the night before she was attacked.
On a cool, crisp September morning Jerry, the father of a teen, drives his child to Denby High School on Detroit's east side.
"They really catch hell, you've got a lot of rapists, perverts -- every thing out there - on the street and any concerned parent ought to get up off their behind to make sure their kids are taken care of," said Jerry.
In the Morris and Kelly area, Aliza, a sixth-grader at Great Oaks Academy, experienced being stalked on her walk to school. "It's very scary because you don't know, cause sometimes they walk behind people - and you don't know if they are going to -- just come and get you and you will not be going to school, and if you don't have a phone - then you can't call your parents or the police."
Other kids say stray dogs complicate their trek back and forth to school.
"If you run," says one young boy, "they are going to bite you - cause they real vicious."
