Posted on 11/10/2007 9:21:52 PM PST by SmithL
I'm sorry, but if teachers or coaches seduce high school students, they ought to spend some time in jail.
That's not been happening around here lately.
- Erin McLean, 29, a student teacher at West High School, had an affair with a male student that led to his death. She left town, got another teaching job in Nashville, tried to seduce another boy, then skipped out when that came to light. Prosecution has not been pursued.
- David Higgins, 51, a West High ROTC instructor, videotaped female cadets changing clothes and convinced them to disrobe and perform stunts. He got three years' probation.
- Jeffrey W. Foster, 40, an assistant volleyball coach at Anderson County High School, seduced a 17-year-old player he'd known since she was 11. He was placed on unsupervised probation.
- Dianne Dieterich, 35, a Catholic High School teacher and coach, had an affair with a 17-year-old student. She'll spend four years on probation.
- Montgomery "Monty" Koons, 51, an Oak Ridge teacher, had sex "almost every day" with a 15-year-old he'd known from middle school. He's free on bond after a plea agreement that could result in a sentence that won't send him to jail.
I realize there are special circumstances surrounding each of these cases.
Some of the cases were flawed, and stiffer prosecution may have been impossible.
I realize, too, that these teachers and coaches are paying for their follies with damaged careers, public humiliation and legal costs.
But we are talking about crimes, not just professional indiscretions - right?
Or are we?
Knoxnews.com allows site visitors to post comments at the end of every story. These can be quite revealing, and what they reveal about these cases is that not everyone believes these students were unquestionably crime victims.
That was especially true in the case of Foster after Kathleen Collins confronted him in court and went public with her story.
She was 17 when her statutory rape occurred and is now a 21-year-old University of Tennessee psychology student.
Comments included:
"I have some SERIOUS doubts this occurred in the manner she would like to portray."
"She's not as innocent as she now wants everyone to think."
"She is using her training in psychology to further enhance this story."
"It honestly sounds to me like things didn't go as she wanted, and here is the result."
The truth is that some people in our community just don't believe it's a serious crime for a teacher to become sexually involved with a kid who's in high school.
Putting the perpetrators on probation just reinforces that perception.
After all, real criminals go to jail. Professionals who commit ethical lapses suffer less severe sanctions.
When teachers sexually abuse teenage students, which are they?
The slam of a cell door would establish the correct answer.
There. That's done.
depends on what she looks like
Perverts.
Should be a hangin offense.
It's time for the schools to mandate training on proper workplace behaviors, just as what would happen in a business.
-PJ
Mandatory sentencing almost always bites you in the rear. A fairly recent case here concerned a 23 year old teacher and her 19 year old student. Unethical? Absolutely. A crime in Texas? Absolutely. A crime worthy of hard time? Not hardly. She’ll never teach again and that’s sufficient. Luckily there was no mandatory sentencing in place to negate the glaringly obvious mitigating factor of their relative ages.
We’re not paying taxes so lowlife “teachers” can use our children as unpaid whores.
As long as the school nurse keeps handing out condoms giving the tacit approval for students to have sex, the propriety of whom they have sex with is merely an academic issue...apparently in the most literal of senses.
Okay, folks. A little sanity here.
If the student had reached the age of consent in the state in question, at the time the sex took place, the teacher should be fired and have their certification lifted: it’s a matter of abuse of a position of authority and not a criminal matter.
If the student was not age of consent, it’s statory rape, which last I checked carried a jail sentence.
Creating a new class of crimes applying only to school teachers is absurd.
Agreed. Maybe there could be a focus on the sexual harrassment issues involved. Yes a student / teacher relationship is analogous to a workplace, as the teacher has the power over the student.
Maybe not just teachers, but all adults in a position of authority over minors.
Really?
Teachers (the foot soldiers of the NEA) have created many new “classes of crimes” applying only to public school students.
Why would they want to exempt themselves from a "zero tolerance policy" that actually seems perfectly logical?
Men teachers for sure!!! Woman teachers it depends on what the guy’s situation is. /weak sarc. I just keep thinking back in high school and the hottest teacher who all the guys wanted (English Teacher junior year) and what we would do if she “offered”. It would have been a fight between the guys to who would win. lol.
That teacher is clearly a christian. What is this, a witch hunt like Salem? This girl clearly does not deserve jail. The liberals are just after her. She is clearly innocent even if she had sex. Dang that was fun spinning!!!!
Actually, you are, and so am I. And there's very little we can do about it, other than keep our own children out of the institution. In that case, we're just paying taxes so school employees can screw other people's children.
Just be careful when talking about anything to do with a noose!!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.