'That is not acceptable': Montreal mom furious son told to drop his pants at school during search for vaping products
A Montreal mother is outraged that her teenaged had to lower his pants at his school last week during a search for vaping products -- a search that one constitutional rights lawyer said went too far.
Andrew Forgione, a Grade 9 student at LaSalle Community Comprehensive High School, called it a traumatizing experience when he and three other students were implicated in the search, during which he had to lower his pants but not his underwear. All four students are between the ages of 13 and 16.
"I dropped them. I had to grab the side of my boxers, move them around, my waistband to see if anything fell out and I had to turn around and do the same thing in the back," Forgione, 15, told CTV News.
His mother, Laura McCarthy, said when he told her what happened, she was furious.
"When you’re asking a 15-year-old boy to drop his pants, that is not acceptable," she said.
"They could have called the police, they could have called a parent, we were not notified."
BOARD SAID SEARCH WAS 'REGRETTABLE'
School officials did find a vaping pen on Forgione. According to the school board's policy, students are banned from bringing any illicit substances and items onto the premises, including vaping paraphernalia.
However, the school board said an investigation is underway to look into what happened, but says there was "no malicious intent" in the search.
"The Lester B Pearson school board is the first to say at our level this is regrettable. We do not accept this as a means or a way to investigate something like vaping in the washrooms," said Judy Kelley, a chairperson of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.
"Our assistant director general is involved, our regional director is involved. They’re at the school, they’re asking questions. They’re trying to get to the bottom of it."
Lawyer Julius Grey said it's clear to him that a search like this was unreasonable.
"If it’s just vaping stuff and if it’s not something that’s immediately dangerous I think it is going too far," he said.
"It’s one thing to look in a locker, it’s one thing to look inside a desk, it’s another thing to tell somebody to pull down his pants."
Darren Becker, communications director for the school board, told CTV News the school has a right to search students if there are "reasonable grounds."
Becker also stressed that the term "strip search" does not apply to Friday's incident, as students weren't asked to remove all of their clothing, just to lower their pants.
Forgione said he was suspended after the vaping pen was found on him and that going back to school since the incident has been an awkward experience.
"They said that they are investigating but nothing has happened yet and something has to be done," he said.
In the meantime, his mother is also concerned about how the experience might affect her son at his school.
"No adult has the right to tell a child to drop his pants. No one," she said.
"I’m not proud of the fact that he had a vaporizing pen on him. But I think that they should have went about it in the right way. They should have notified the parents, someone should have been there with him."
With files from CTV News' Matt Grillo
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people have died and two have been hospitalized after a speeding car struck a tree and landed on another vehicle in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Amid climate change warnings, Canadians lukewarm on electric vehicles
Amid scientists' warnings that nations need to transition away from fossil fuels to limit climate change, Canadians are still lukewarm on electric vehicles, according to a study conducted by Nanos Research for CTV News.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
1 person killed and 23 injured in a bus crash in northern Maryland, police say
One person was killed and 23 others were injured when a bus crashed early Sunday on Interstate 95 in northern Maryland, police said.
Nylander defends Leafs' core after playoff exit, Toronto again picks up the pieces
William Nylander stood in a solemn visitors locker room at TD Garden just before midnight. The Maple Leafs had battled back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Boston Bruins with consecutive 2-1 victories - including one that required extra time - in their first-round playoff series to push the club's Original Six rival to the limit before suffering a devastating Game 7 overtime loss. Nylander's message was emphatic.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.