Sex Abuse ‘Was Our Fault’: Student Takeaway From School’s Silence

Good morning! It’s Saturday, Nov. 13. Fall leaves are still peaking in a few areas of the country, but elsewhere, you may find yourself out raking them into compost piles or lawn bags. Here are some of the stories people are talking about on Patch:

• A Long Island woman wants an apology from her high school alma mater for sexual and emotional abuse she claims happened a decade ago.
• The judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial says jurors will be allowed to consider lesser charges.
• Grateful children aren’t just born that way.
• A pilot who rocketed to space with William Shatner was killed in a New Jersey plane crash.
• House envy: You can sleep where Marilyn Monroe did, or in a house where no one should throw stones.

A now 28-year-old Long Island woman is speaking publicly about a high school teacher she accused of grooming and sexually abusing her for several years a decade ago.

“It is inconceivable that school employees were not aware of these ‘rumors’ back then,” Brittney Rohl wrote in an eight-page letter to the Babylon school board. “I firmly believe that there are professionals currently working within the school district who knew back then and who were not surprised in the past few weeks. We probably aren't going to be able to prove that, but I want you to know that we know.”

Rohl claimed that from the time she was a high school freshman, she was warned about the teacher who “had had sex” with students, but the school did nothing.

"Instead, we watched as sexual predators were given tenure and teaching awards, and coached our sports teams season after season. We came to believe that this was normal," she wrote. "This quite literally taught us that the pain we endured was our fault. We deserve an apology." » LI Woman Accuses Teacher Of Sexual Abuse: ‘We Deserve An Apology,’ via Babylon Village, New York, Patch

Rittenhouse Jury May Consider Lesser Charges

Attorneys in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin, wrangled over jury instructions Friday. Judge Bruce Schroeder ruled after the contentious debate the jury will be allowed to consider lesser charges in addition to those prosecutors originally bright against Rittenhouse.

The provocation instruction the judge ultimately said he would allow asks the jury to consider if Rittenhouse provoked one of his victims into attacking him during a protest last year in Kenosha over police brutality and racial justice.

Rittenhouse, who was 17 when he shot and killed two people and wounded another, claims he acted in self-defense. But if the jury finds he provoked his victim, that would negate his claim. » Judge Allows Lesser Charges In Rittenhouse Trial, via Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant, Wisconsin, Patch

• Related: 500 National Guard On Standby For Rittenhouse Verdict

Raising Grateful Children

Grateful children aren’t just born that way. Gratitude is not inherent. It must be taught. It goes beyond words and good manners — gratitude is an action, and it's one that starts with parents. Experts weigh in on how to do this in our continuing 30 Days Of Gratitude series. » Teach Kids to Be Grateful By Example: 30 Days Of Gratitude At Patch, via Across America Patch

• Related: 6 Habits Of Grateful People

Pilot In Space With Shatner Dies In Plane Crash

Private pilot Glen M. de Vries, who flew to space last month with actor William Shatner and others aboard a Blue Origin rocket, and another person were killed Thursday when the small plane they were in crashed in a wooded area in New Jersey. » Pilot Who Rocketed To Space With William Shatner Dies In Plane Crash, via Hopatcong-Sparta, New Jersey, Patch

House Envy

We’ll start with Marilyn Monroe’s penthouse. It’s as dreamy as the late actress, and it’s for sale for $2.49 million, via Hollywood, California, Patch. A house that sold for $2.4 million is also dreamy, unless the buyer craves privacy, and then it could be a nightmare. And definitely don’t throw stones, via Winnetka, Illinois, Patch. Click the links to see more photos of both properties.

Around ‘The Patch’

A rare “cotton candy” lobster was caught recently off the coast of Maine. Don’t worry. It’s not dinner. Instead, Haddie, as the crustecean was dubbed in honor of the lobsterman’s granddaughter, is headed to the Seacoast Science Center in New Hampshire. » Rare ‘Cotton Candy’ Lobster Won’t Be Anyone’s Dinner, via Hampton-North Hampton, New Hampshire, Patch

• Ahmaud Arbery Case: Officer Said He Didn’t Deputize McMichaels, via Atlanta Patch
• Astroworld Mass Casualty Declaration Didn’t Reach Scott: Lawyer, via Houston Patch
• Missing NJ Girl Found After Massive Statewide Search, via West Orange, New Jersey, Patch
• Patient Can Have Ivermectin Treatment, Court Rules, via Naperville, Illinois, Patch
• Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Arrives: What You Need To Know, via Midtown, New York City, Patch
• California’s Rivian Unseats Ford, GM In Market Value, 2nd Only To Tesla, via Orange County, California, Patch
• Mickey Mouse Is Runner Up For Mayor, via Hoboken, New Jersey, Patch

National News

Steve Bannon, the longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was indicted Friday on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. » Trump Ally Steve Bannon Indicted On Contempt Charges, via Across America Patch

• Britney Spears Free As Conservatorship Ends, via Los Angeles Patch
• COVID Hot Spots A Sign Of What Could Be Ahead, via Across America Patch
• Big Bird Backlash: Not Even Muppets Are Immune To Vaccine Politics, via Across America Patch
• ‘I Quit’: Americans Give Bosses Same Message In Record Numbers, via Across America Patch
• U.S. Athletes Face Uncertain Road To Beijing Olympics, via Across America Patch
• The Week In Photos, via Across America Patch

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