BY DANA DiFILIPPO
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A brawl outside Bond Hill School last week has prompted concerns about students' safety and has renewed Cincinnati and police leaders' call for security in schools.
About 13 students -- ages 6 to 13 -- were involved in the fight Thursday afternoon behind the California Avenue school.
Seven students could be charged with simple assault and two face charges of gross sexual imposition, or improper touching, said Sgt. Daniel Oliver of the Cincinnati Police Division's personal crimes unit. Investigators will decide early this week whether to file charges, he said.
"We're still trying to sort through all the pieces here and determine how much of this was playful and how much of this was true," Sgt. Oliver said.
Some say the incident highlights a need for increased security around the school, a block from where a 17-year-old was shot in April 1997.
"I would have thought there would have been more supervision right outside the school and the rec center," Cincinnati Federation of Teachers President Tom Mooney said.
A parent alerted police to the incident, which occurred just beyond school property near the Bond Hill Recreation Center, Friday morning, police said.
Police patrol outside the school before and after classes under the Safe Pathways Program -- which calls for a police presence at or near schools, adult volunteers to patrol paths used by children, and signs identifying homes and businesses children can go to if they sense a problem.
