Boy caught using slang in email

UK news:

A father criticised a police force today for launching an investigation after his ten-year-old son allegedly called a schoolfriend "gay" in an email.

Company director Alan Rawlinson said he was astounded after two police officers arrived at his home in Bold Heath, Cheshire, to speak to his son George.

The officers were called earlier this month after a parent complained that George had called her son a "gay boy" in an email.

Mr Rawlinson, 41, said: "I could not believe what I was hearing when the officers told me.

"They told me they considered it a very serious offence, I thought they were joking at first. ...

"The use of the word gay would imply this is homophobic but we would be hard-pushed to say this is a homophobic crime."

I thought that "gay" was a preferred term.