Garden Grove Girl Faces Expulsion for E-Mail Threat

A student from a Garden Grove high school is facing possible criminal charges and expulsion after allegedly threatening a Jewish teacher in an anti-Semitic e-mail.

The girl, who was not identified because she is a minor, will not return to Bolsa Grande High School next week when school starts, said a spokesman for the Garden Grove Unified School District. She still faces review from a disciplinary committee and the Board of Education to determine whether she will be banned permanently from school.

Although no criminal charges have been filed, an investigation is underway, said Mike Fell, Orange County’s senior deputy district attorney in charge of prosecuting hate crimes. Fell would not speak specifically about this case, but he said a person who sends a threatening e-mail could face a charge of “terrorist threats.”

Hate crime watch groups say the e-mail is a frightening reminder of intolerance and urged school administrators to take the threat seriously. School officials declined to comment.

A copy of the alleged e-mail provided by the Anti-Defamation League reads like a rambling stream of consciousness, dotted with ellipses and written entirely in lowercase letters. There are threats of physical violence and mentions of the girl’s Christianity and her hatred for the teacher’s religion.

The teacher, who was not identified because of safety concerns, reported the e-mail to Seal Beach police on July 26. He also contacted the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights anti-Semitism, and gave a copy to it, said Joyce Greenspan, the league’s regional director in Orange County.

Police and school officials should not dismiss the girl’s alleged threats, Greenspan said.

“Taking things lightly is a mistake,” she said. “We’ve learned the hard way that we can’t take anything for granted.”

To prove a hate crime, the prosecution must show that the victim’s race, gender, religion or sexual orientation motivated the attack, Fell said. A “terrorist threat” takes place if the victim believed that he or she was in immediate danger of physical harm, he added, and is punishable by up to three years in prison. Juveniles as well as adults can be tried.

Hate crimes are not on the rise in Orange County, Greenspan said, but incidents such as the e-mail are reminders that schools must be prepared to deal with hate and violence.

At nearby Los Alamitos High School, every freshman must go through a rigorous workshop that teaches tolerance and respect for diversity. Retreats are organized by Griffins With a Mission, a student group created several years ago after racist literature appeared in school lockers.

The club--one of the largest on campus--leads several workshops and conferences throughout the year, including an annual retreat that brings together students of different religious backgrounds, said Assistant Principal Jerry Halpin. He believes the workshops have made a difference.

“We have very, very few overt problems in terms of racism” and intolerance, he said.