Sick to the stomach

We're just having a friend visiting who told us a tale so horrific that I simply have to blog about it, so that maybe I can calm down afterwards. A friend of hers from an idyllic town in Southern Germany, a ninth-grader of sixteen, came home from school looking ill and out-of-sorts last Friday. He wouldn't tell his mother what was wrong for the longest time. What he eventually confessed to was so sickening that I can hardly bear typing it. It turns out that five of his classmates pinned him down during a break between classes and used a broomstick to penetrate him rectally. They didn't even bother to remove his trousers beforehand. The boy in question has suffered both internal and external injuries from the incident, as well as, I presume, severe mental trauma. I simply cannot believe I am writing this. Worst of all, after he had finally given in and told his parents (who rushed him to a doctor), the mother called his school (this school) to report the incident and ask for help. She was told that there was nothing the school would do and that it was up to them, the parents, to ring the offenders' parents or take whatever other action they deemed appropriate. In essence, the school made clear that they were washing their hands of the matter. Now, I repeat, this incident occurred during a school day, inside a classroom on the school's premises, with teachers supposedly responsible for attending to the welfare of this child. I am furious, both with fact that the idea of such action, let alone the execution, should have even entered the minds of a group of smalltown teenagers, and even more with the school board's reaction. In my view, the offending pupils need to be evicted from the school immediately and publicly - that would be the only way to save the school's face, let alone their reputation as somewhere parents would want to send their children to be educated. I am incredulous as to the apparent passivity of the school board and, should things not start happening very quickly, I'm very tempted to call the press. For the sake of the poor victim, I would much rather desist from doing so, though - humiliated and scarred for life as he must already be, the last thing he needs now is attention from the media. However, if it appears that the school is trying to turn a blind eye and shush the incident away, I hereby promise I will do my damnedest and ask you, my readers, for your support in e-mailing the school to let them know that their story has become public. For now, I shall wait and keep you posted on what happens. As I said, the boy in question is a good friend of a friend, so hopefully my information will be up-to-date. Please don't hold back praying for his well-being and recovery (in as much as is possible) as for now...