Middle-school students who made racial slurs against a bi racial eighth-grader in Fruita will not be prosecuted but have been disciplined by school authorities.
Pete Hautzinger, 21st Judicial District attorney, said the racial slurs that prompted 13-year-old Angelina Weimann to change schools were “reprehensible” but did not constitute a prosecutable crime.
Weimann told authorities that two students told her at different times that they were going dress up like Ku Klux Klan members for Halloween. Weimann, who moved from Kansas to Colorado last year, said another student threw a rock at her and called her a racial slur after she told him to stop. In the last incident, Weimann said, another student told her, “I’m going to hang you from a tree.”
Hautzinger said in order for the racial taunts to be criminal there also had to be bodily injury, property damage or the victim had to be in fear of imminent lawless action.
Hautzinger said none of those applied in these incidents, which generally occurred in front of other students, and in at least one case, had a teacher as a witness.
Mesa County Valley School District 51 spokesman Jeff Kirtland said the district has taken “appropriate action” against the students who made the comments. He said confidentiality laws do not permit him to say what those actions were.
Kirtland said he does not believe that racial taunts are a common occurrence in Grand Valley schools.
“I can safely say it is not a widespread problem,” Kirtland said.
Weimann and her mother, Katrina Weimann, could not be reached for comment.
Hautzinger said the family is satisfied with his decision and with the school district’s actions.
Angelina Weimann was homeschooled for several weeks after the last incident but then transferred from Fruita Middle School to Redlands Middle School and has not reported any further incidents.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
