Kids Allegedly Light Friend on Fire at Summer Sleepover

– Allison Goldsberry

One middle school student is in jail and two others are under house arrest following an August incident in which the students allegedly lit another student on fire during a sleepover.

According to a source, the kids were fooling around with a can of spray deodorant and allegedly lit one of the kids on fire after spraying him.

“My teenager tells me he’s heard kids brag about having fun with this stuff; they spray it into bowls- or on their hands- and light it, and the flame hovers a few inches away from the object that was sprayed,” said a Medford resident with a son at Medford High School.

According to a Medford Daily Mercury report, the three students have been charged with mayhem, a charge that carries a penalty of up to twenty years in prison for a “malicious intent to maim or disfigure” another person.

The victim is back in school and has been since the beginning of the school year.  Officials declined to comment on his condition or further details on the case because juvenile court proceedings are sealed.

Though the incident happened over the summer and off of school property, School Superintendent Roy Belson said the administration is very concerned and is considering how to deal with the fall out of the incident to prevent it from happening again.

“We are concerned for the young people and we’ll do what we have to do for education,” said Belson.

By law, the school department is required to continue providing educational services to the two students under house arrest.  Belson said the schools are working with the families of the students to determine the best way to continue their education while the case makes its way through the courts.