A former classmate of one of the Turpin children, the 12 California children who are alleged to have been tied to their beds and starved by their parents for years, recounted how years ago, he and other children used to tease one of the older Turpin girls when she attended school for having filthy hair and clothes and smelling badly (it has been revealed that the parents allowed their children to bathe just one time a year and punished them if they washed their hands above the wrist). In a Facebook post, he expresses such regret about being a child and being unkind to this young girl, and his words are heartfelt and kind.

We often do things as kids that we later regret, and there was no way to know that the girl he was calling “Cootie Kid” had an abusive home. In the years since school, he had looked her up on social media, hoping he would see evidence that her life had gone well,

There are many touching quotes by the man, who is now in medical school, including the following:  “The resounding lesson here is a simple one, something that we’re taught from the very beginning: be nice. Teach your children to be nice. If you see someone that’s isolated, befriend them. If you see someone that’s marginalized, befriend them. If you see someone that’s different, befriend them. We can never completely put ourselves in others’ shoes nor can we complete understand the circumstances that one is brought up in, but a simple act of kindness and acceptance may be the ray of hope that that person needs.”

The link follows:

Classmate feels overwhelming guilt about teasing Turpin girl years ago