Police: Fayette County High Teens held girl down to pierce her stomach

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- A 17-year-old Fayette County high school student is accused of piercing a 13-year-old girl against her will, while two other students held the girl down.

School officials told Channel 2's Sophia Choi it happened on Aug. 26 during lunch in a school courtyard.

Police charged Christian Tucker as an adult for battery, disruption of a public school and piercing the body of a person under the age of 18.

The two students who held the girl down were charged as juveniles for battery and disruption of a public school.

Melinda Berry-Dreisbach with the Fayette County Public Schools said, "a couple of students who knew what was going on alerted one of our assistant principals at Fayette County High and she went out to find this one student being held down by two other students and a third student was piercing her navel, and the assistant, I guess, got there half way through the piercing and stopped what was happening."

Police also charged the victim with disruption of a public school because she initially participated in the piercing.

Det. Mike Whitlow of the Fayetteville Police Department told Choi the girl originally asked to have the piercing, but changed her mind.

"Once the student got started and the juvenile saw the size of the needle, she decided she didn't want to do it anymore," Whitlow said.

The needle police confiscated was two inches long, according to Whitlow.

"The needle was still in the girl's stomach when the administrator came around," Whitlow said.

School officials said an EMT was called and checked the girl out and she was fine.

"It was very surprising that this was happening. They have never dealt with this before at Fayette County High, nor to my knowledge have we ever dealt with it at any of our schools, so I think this was a first," Berry-Dreisbach said.

But detective Whitlow told Choi it has happened before at various schools.

"It has become a problem in schools. Body piercings, as well as tattooing," Whitlock said.

Berry-Dreisbach said all three students involved in the incident were suspended and the courtyard area at Fayette County High, where the incident happened, is now off limits to students during lunch.