10 Year Old's Arrest Followed Incident at School

The recent arrest of a 10-year-old girl followed a scuffle at the Red Bank Middle School, borough police Capt. Darren McConnell said Tuesday.

According to McConnell, the suspected - unidentified because of her age - was arrested on April 20 and charged with simple assault after a argument escalated to the point of a fight during an after school program. The arrest came after the mother of the apparent victim filed a complaint with Red Bank Police.

The arrest did not take place at the school nor were police called to the school, McConnell said.

"The child - the alleged victim - was taken to the emergency room after (the fight) complaining of pain but was released soon after," McConnell said. "The school conducted its own investigation but the mother (of the victim) wanted to sign a complaint. Her allegation was that it's an assault. Our involvement was fairly limited."

The identity of the victim was not released.

Red Bank Superintendent Laura Morana declined to discuss specifics about the incident, but said details about the arrest report, including that it happened at the school, aren't accurate. McConnell confirmed that there was no police activity at the middle school and that the arrest was made at .

"There appears to be a great deal of confusion about how this (incident) was reported," Morana said. "I'm not sure how much I'm permitted to say. What I should say is that I've spoken with the chief of police to understand what this particular report is intended to communicate. I'm not so sure about the details. There appears to be a significant amount of confusion.