Posted on 01/13/2009 3:59:22 PM PST by Sopater
SEATTLE — Washington state law does not bar teachers from having sex with 18-year-old students.
That's the decision of a three-judge panel of the Washington Court of Appeals, which on Tuesday ordered the dismissal of a case brought against Hoquiam High School's former choir teacher.
The teacher, Matthew Hirschfelder, was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor. He challenged a judge's refusal to dismiss his case. The appeals court unanimously agreed that the state law is vague, and that the Legislature only intended to forbid sexual contact between school employees and students who are 16 or 17.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Actually, the legal age of consent varies in Washington. At the age of 16 a person can “consent” to have sex with just about anyone(other than a “child”, a therapist, doctor, and very few others). Age of consent is gray after that. At age 14-15 years a minor can “consent” to sex with a person who is not more than 48 months older - no crime is committed. So, at age 14, it is legally OK to have sex with an 18 year old - depending on birthdays. At age 12-13 years, a person can “consent” to sex with a person not more than 36 months older, and under age 12 years a person can “consent” to sex with a person not more than 24 months older.
As crazy as it is, I work in this field, and I see it every day. Most people are unaware of the laws on this issue in this state. However, those who prey on children know these laws like the back of their hand... and take advantage of them gleefully. They know they won’t be prosecuted, and they move from child to child.
Every year, work is done by concerned parents trying to get this law changed. Every year it dies in committee.
Not exactly. I would prefer smaller government in most all areas. I do find it humorous though that people get outraged over government intrusion into sexual practices, but turn a blind eye towards government intrusion into areas that actually affect them more and are more severe.
I don’t
Well, an 18-y/o is an adult.
And they can be policemen (in many places)
And they can join the military
But they can’t drink.
However, contracts can be written that he could be fired, and state laws can be written to void teacher licenses.
So a student, attending school but perhaps not to bright, or for whatever reason is a couple of grades behind, could be having sex with their teacher(s) from as soon as they hit 18 years old? A junior in HS, maybe even late in the sophmore year. Puts a whole new meaning into being in detention, doesn’t it.
Surely even the Wash State liberal Dims will have to amend their laws. What about the local school board, can’t they fire the guy for banging his student? Or did they?
Usually, not always ... and as the kids get older, I believe it's much more common to "farm out" certain subjects to adults who are not the parent. Indeed, many home-schoolers I know, actually attend certain classes at public schools (band, for example).
Exactly. Been watching TV news this morning too and the dialogue here, and there, has it all backwards.
The question before the court is "Is it illegal". Not "is it good, is it desirable, should the schools allow or encourage it", but is it against the law.
The law says MUCH more than that. 16 year old is the age of consent in Washington according to the article. A detail that escaped the hundred plus talkbackers at the Houston Comical version of this article.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6210607.html
To all of the people who say “no big whoop” because the girl was over the age of consent, would they feel the same about a 16 year old student having sex with her/his 33-year old male teacher?
10 years ago we had people defending the relationship between an upaid intern and her supervisor (the POS-POTUS) who later saw to it that she secured a 6-figure salary in exchange for lying under oath.
The teacher denies he even had sex.
And Mary Kay Letourneau and her former "victim" are now married. Prosecuting and jailing her was sure money well spent. ~rolls eyes~
Should we not be prosecuting the married couples in West Texas’ FLDS either?
I don’t know enough about them to say. But if they’re just waiting for jail sentences to be over so they can live together again, I’d say no.
Like in most areas of American life, the notion of conflict of interest is all but a thing of the past. What happened to the notion that teachers should deal with all their students on an equal and fair basis. Ain’t gonna happen if a teacher has that ‘special’ relationship with one or more of his or her students. Talk about a teachers pet.
This just scrambles the proper teacher/student relationship in all sorts of ways.
But this sort of thing has been going on for decades. Not sure if it’s so much more common, or if more cases make it into the news now.
Most kids who start at the normal time turn 18 during their senior year.
Agreed, with some exceptions. Teachers should be prohibited by policy from having sex with those whom they teach. The teacher who has sex with an adult student in a high school, should be terminated.
She was incompletely prosecuted. She only ended up serving the BALANCE of her sentence for letting the kid knock her up the first time, when it was discovered that she let him knock her up the second time. King County Prosecutor Norm Maeling, RINO extraordinare, did not go to court to get a conviction on the second crime. She only did a token six months on the original crime, and had the rest of the seven years suspended with her parole. A man would have gotten hard time on both crimes, and rightfully so. But when its a woman involved with a kid, it's viewed as something different.
It makes me sick to see this spun as some sort of "love story". People do not send their kids to schools to have the staff use them as sex toys.
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