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Welcome to the website for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California.  On this site you will find press releases and public announcements, my monthly reports about the office’s activities, and information about our district, our office and what we do.  There are also descriptions about  various programs and initiatives involving our office and links to websites for the federal courts, law enforcement agencies and task forces, as well as other useful sites.

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October 2012
Issue No. 31

The U.S. Attorney's Report to the District
           

October is Bullying Prevention Month.  Bullying in schools is not an inevitable part of childhood or a rite of passage.  It is a serious public safety issue which can have lasting negative consequences, for both the bully and the bully’s victims.  Bullies who lack empathy and resort to violence mature into adults who are more likely to enter the criminal justice system as defendants.  In extreme cases it can lead to suicide.  In just one example in this district, Seth Walsh, a gay teen who was relentlessly bullied in a Kern County middle school, tragically took his own life in 2010, at age 13.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, victims of bullying are at increased risk for mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, while youth who bully others are at increased risk for substance abuse, academic problems, and violence later in adolescence and adulthood. 
 
Bullying often takes place in or near elementary or middle schools.  The anonymity and popularity of on-line social networks, however, has created a new forum in which non-physical bullying – harassment and humiliation which can be just as damaging – has proliferated. 

Click here to read the entire report »