Juvenile Victim-Offender Mediation

Jason and Markus are two teenagers who only knew each other because they sometimes hung out at the same park. One afternoon Jason started pushing Markus around because he had heard rumors that Markus was trying to date his girlfriend, Veronica. The pushing turned into something more aggressive. Jason became angrier as he chased Markus around the park, landing blows and kicking Markus when he was on the ground.

There were other teenagers in the park and the incident was recorded on a phone and posted on social media. Eventually, the police arrived. Jason was arrested for battery and sent to mediation by the court.

Jason and Markus, along with Jason’s mom, Denise, and Markus’ dad, Henry, met with the CCR mediator. At first, it seemed that Henry had more to say than Markus. Although he was very upset that Markus had been beaten up, Henry was even more upset that the altercation was posted online. Henry believed that the video was embarrassing for his son and would have a negative impact on his reputation. It was Henry’s priority to make sure the video was taken down.

During the conversation Jason and Denise shared that Jason had been dealing with anger management issues. He had been building resources for how to better manage similar situations, but had been strongly impacted by the rumors about Markus and Veronica. Markus used the time to explain that he and Veronica were very good friends and that he wasn’t interested in dating her.

The mediator asked them both questions about the incident and came to learn that both Markus and Jason had been at the park for the same reason – they were looking to make friends. Since the incident, neither of them had gone back to the park and both expressed feelings of isolation and loneliness. They agreed that they would both like to use the park again without concerns about a future confrontation.

With the mediator’s assistance, the young men were able to discuss their dynamic and came to an agreement that everything was settled between them. Henry still wanted to have the video removed from the internet and Markus agreed to do so. During the mediation, Markus was able to use his mother’s phone to delete the video from his social media pages.

Everyone left the mediation satisfied that the matter had been resolved. 

Links:

• Center for Conflict Resolution website