Graphic booklet sent home with Portland schoolkids shocks parents
By Helen Jung, The Oregonian
May 16, 2010, 6:00AM
Joe Alvaro's 10-year-old son generally knows what sex is.But the Southeast Portland father wasn't prepared for the questions from his son after the boy finished classes a week ago at Llewellyn Elementary School. Among them: What's sodomy?
View full sizeTurns out the fourth-grader came across the term, as well as descriptions of sexual abuse and other crimes in a 24-page comic-style booklet put together by thePortland Police Bureau and handed out to all the students, kindergarten through fifth grade, at Llewellyn.
The "Operation Safe Summer" brochure, distributed annually through Portland Public Schools to all district schools, mostly includes information about summer programs for children at the Oregon Zoo, Portland Parks and Recreation and other activities.
But this year, the Police Bureau included a new feature on the back page, which shows a buxom female superhero trumpeting "Measure 11 An Oregon Law." The sheet includes a listing of crimes, such as manslaughter, unlawful sexual penetration and sodomy, that could cause juveniles ages 15 or older to be tried as adults. It also explains