Reader CJ sent me this article. I remember reading about the accusation in a very light way back then, but I admit I did not mind much nor I followed up since we were buried in an avalanche of crap back then.  I guess we assumed Sheriff Israel allowed Deputy Peterson to retire so fast and fully benefited as a way to keep him quiet and cover up for the deadly and cowardly screw up. But this article points out in the direction that Peterson cashed a huge chip to avoid a lengthy wiping in the media and other places.

Some now think they have found the answer in a single incident that occurred in 2014. A police report shows that’s when Israel’s then-17-year-old son, Brett, was accused of participating in a sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas  High School.

The case was investigated by Scot Peterson — the armed deputy who took cover while children and staff were shot last February. Using the Obama-era guidelines, Peterson’s recommendation helped his boss’s son receive just a three-day suspension.

Fla.: The Sheriff, the Sheriff’s Son, and the ‘Coward of Broward’

And we are not talking about giving a wedgie to somebody:

According to the four-page report filed by Peterson, the victim, who was a freshman at the time, alleged that Israel, then the school’s starting quarterback, held him  down while another senior kicked him, grabbed his genitals and rammed a  baseball bat between his buttocks, simulating rape.

That is way beyond simple bullying even way back to my High School years. Maybe it was the Hispanic thing, but if you touched somebody’s ass, you better be ready to have some blood leakage out of your face.

People familiar with the case say Peterson could have referred Israel for felony charges, but reduced the crime to “simple  battery,” making him eligible for a leniency program requiring no arrest. “The school district’s disciplinary matrix requires no law  enforcement action required regarding the incident,” the deputy wrote.

BSO had history of manipulating crime reports to make it look like crime goes down and it is solved faster than with any other agency. That is how they convinced many towns in Broward to use them as their LEO agency. IIRC, this was published in the Miami Herald some years back I think when they were about to absorb Fire department responsibilities too.

“A child was sexually assaulted and Peterson reduced the charges to fit a matrix and report it as information. This allowed the  deputy to put it away and not do anything,” said Arreaza, who is suing both Israel and Peterson on behalf of Anthony Borges, a  Stoneman Douglas student who survived the massacre, despite being shot five times.

Arreaza said that the same lax disciplinary culture meant Cruz was never expelled or sent to the juvenile justice system despite committing  multiple offenses every year throughout middle and high school. Peterson was warned at least twice of the threat Cruz posed  as an active shooter,  but failed to investigate the matter. Peterson had an office on the Stoneman Douglas campus, where he’d been posted for nine years.

This matrix is still up and running in many school districts. You may have forgotten another case where an alleged angel mowed down by a furious redneck was not quite the angelic figure, but his crimes were toned down or “disappeared” in order to make the school look good: Trayvon Martin.

Let us not forget that Trayvon was going to school here in Miami-Dade but was sent up north to his dad because his mom could not control him.  But by looking at his school report, you would swear he was almost a teen version of an apostle.

I really do not expect changes, new governor or not. Unless there is a nice multi-million dollar retirement package ready for Israel,  he won’t be leaving. In fact there is a verbal faction demanding he be left alone because only the voters can remove him from office since he was elected and they would get their chance in 200. Kinda ironic because it is coming from the same people demanding the impeachment and removal from offices of President Trump.

Oh well.