SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A 12-year-old girl is facing criminal charges after she was arrested for pinching a schoolmate on the behind.
Breana Evans told Channel 9 that it was a joke, but she was suspended from Milwee Middle School and placed in the back of a squad car, taken to the juvenile justice center and fingerprinted.
Evans said she was charged with a misdemeanor for battery.
"I was by the office and we were just pinching random people, and that's it," Breana said.
Paperwork shows that Breana was suspended because the act was deemed "socially unacceptable."
"I can see her being suspended from school, I understand that, but as far as them coming to arrest her the next day, no, that's not the American way," Breana's father, Ray Evans, said.
Ray Evans said the arrest was "extreme" and "crazy."
Deputies said there isn't a history between Breana and the student she pinched, but officials' hands are tied because the mother of the boy wanted to press charges, even though the boy didn't want to.
"I don't get why it's such a big deal. I just pinched the boy's butt. I didn't like hurt him or anything," Breana said.
The boy's mother could not be reached for comment.
Deputies consulted with the State Attorney’s Office, and now Breana will take classes and do community service as part of a 90-day diversion program to have the charge removed from her record upon completion.