Teen-sex video raises questions in Scarsdale of parental oversight
SCARSDALE - News that a teen-sex video featuring local kids was circulating in Scarsdale stunned the affluent village yesterday, with residents debating the future of young people in the age of materialism and carefree sex.
Across the village downtown, in cafes, restaurants, on sidewalks and in parks, residents shook their heads in disbelief and discussed the video and the issues it has brought forth. Most people interviewed said they had not viewed the video or heard of its existence until they read about it yesterday.
"I'm saddened," said Hanna Strong, a real estate agent who has lived in Scarsdale for 30 years and raised children there. "Maybe that's where the world is going."
Police are investigating the 18-minute amateur video of two high school girls who engage in a sexual encounter as boys spur them on. The tape was apparently made at an unsupervised spring break house party where alcohol was consumed. It circulated in the Scarsdale school community via the Internet.
Teen-sex video raises questions in Scarsdale of parental oversight
Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro said yesterday that she had seen part of the video and had been updated on the probe by Scarsdale Detective Richard Fatigate. But she declined to discuss specifics of the video or whether any of it amounted to criminal activity.
She said it was just the latest example of how parents are failing to keep tabs on their teenagers.
"It is a very disturbing tape. The consequences of underage drinking are more and more obvious," Pirro said.
The video, replete with coarse sexual comments, shows partial nudity with one girl kissing and fondling the other. As the tape progresses, one girl indicates she doesn't want to continue, saying "stop" and "no" several times. But the girls are coaxed on by the onlookers.
"Sex is a beautiful thing, but this is debasing and defiling," said Leslie Dowling of Scarsdale, a 56-year-old speech pathologist, as she sipped an iced tea at an outdoor cafe. "It's just so sad to see children lose something so beautiful."
While many young people said they were disturbed by the contents of the video, some thought it was no big deal.
"It's not, like, really hard-core," said Jeremy Spicehandler, 18, who is graduating today. "It got blown out of proportion because so many people had it, and so many people are talking about it, but I don't think the actual video was that big of a deal."
Several adults interviewed yesterday said the video was indicative of a malaise in society that glorified celebrities such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and Paris Hilton who seem to be in a competition to outdo one another in shocking behavior.
"You're nobody until you do something extreme," said Carl Garnier, a local attorney, explaining the trend among young people. "They are losing their innocence. They are vicious."
Though many blamed the media and popular culture, they said a serious issue was lack of proper supervision of children, which was increasingly common in a culture where both parents work.
"You get the feeling that the parents are just not involved. They're so busy trying to make money, and they need two incomes to provide for the kind of lifestyle they want," said Eileen Slattery, a retired sales associate who moved to Scarsdale two years ago. "It's easier to give the kid what he wants than to spend the time talking to them or dealing with the issues."
Susan Nusbaum, 45, a mother of four, said it was challenging to balance control and freedom for children, especially in an affluent area.
"You have to hope that you instill the right values in your children from the get-go, because I don't think you can count on other parents to supervise your children how you would want to," she said.
Calls to the teenage host's family went unanswered yesterday. Other efforts to get comments from the participants have been unsuccessful. The Journal News is not publishing the students' names because they are minors.
Members of Scarsdale's Advisory Council on Youth, a village body charged with developing and maintaining contact with young people, either refused to comment on the video or did not return telephone calls.
"I haven't heard a thing," said Linda Chayes, chairwoman of the council.
When pressed for comment, Chayes asked the newspaper to call back in a week.
A spokeswoman for the Scarsdale school district refused to discuss matters of school discipline and said further media focus on the story would be detrimental to the students.
"We will consider, over the summer, what is appropriate to do in terms of our continuing goal of helping our students learn to make healthy decisions," said Victoria Free Presser, the spokeswoman.
She said earlier this week that the school district would not discipline any students because the incident occurred off school premises.
Some residents said adults needed to take firm action when teenagers engaged in extreme behavior so they don't repeat it.
"The only way to stop this is to set a precedent," Garnier said. "The only way to stop a 15-year-old is to make them nauseous of the consequences. Otherwise, they will think it is a joke."